The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1899-09-22

hs ling step. What we live upon shows
in the life. Feeding on this bread we
should grow In grace we should be at
tanning a Christlike character. And
what is character? Ia 1t q mere bundle
of graces, SO that when we take pa
thence and bind tot goodness and to that
virtue and to that knowledge and to
that brotherly kindness and to that
love, we can LOOK at the bundle
which has been formed and say,
This is character ?, Is that our concep-
ton? No; chsrs cser in its conpl ate form
is Oh ristlike ness and nothing else can
| satisfy. Christlikeness ia attained by
| copying Christ just as the artist copies
some great master niece, by following
after Christsjust as the little child follows
after his father, by walking ''in His
steps" You have watched the little
child following after his father as the
two went over a dangerous path. You
have seen the child carefully place the
foot with each step where the fathers
foot had bee only the moment before
The child listed In the father, kne w
that he was a ssfesguide to follow and
kept closely in the way;
SO WE SHOULD FOLLOW AFTER CHRIST.
Thus Longfellow sings of Evangeline:
to follow meekly,
With reverent feet, the sacred steps of her
Saviour"
Feeding upon this bread we shall grow
In grace; feeding upon Christ we shall
become Chrlstlike; following after Him
we shall learn His way. In just so far
as we depend upon other nourishment
for our souls we shall stunt and dwarf
our growth and fail of coming to s'the
measure of the stature of the fulIness of
Christ"
Feeding on this bread, by keeping in
communication with the Divine sour ce
| Of supply, we shsl be helped over life's
hard places. 1t is cold comfort to say TO
one who is in some dire Distress, 'Be
still and know that am God" Such a
| one does not wish to be still If he think,
/ that in his sffi lotion he is but to recng-
njze Gods sovereignty; between God
and him there seems an impossible depth,
| and it is no voice of pity or compas sion
| which says, "Be still" 1t is, too, hard
| lV enough Co quote to one around whom
dark clouds are hanging, "All things
work together for good to sthem that
love God" That may be; there Ia some
comfort, stray morsel of comfort, in
the thought that good il sure to come
by-and-by; but the question for the at
| fiicted one to settle now is, Is any one
one now at his side to strengthen, help
and inspire me? remember that over
in Pales tine saw single OK or even q
cow ploughing under q yoke; but
the animal made scr:y wo,k of
it it indeed. The yoke is for
| two. Christ said, 'sTake my yoke
| upon YOU" There are those who never
fret at work. They are not afraid of
work. They can undertake the most ex-
acting tasks without complaining; they
can endure the worst strain Of labor
without mormur. To work is not hard
for them. What is hard is to lie still
and cough, to be forced into season of
retire ment. VIII any one be with them
then? VIII voice speak comfortably
| in the meditation of the night-watcbes
Ii they feed on this bread which comes
down from heaven, thew will find il a
| supply never-failinR. It will be fresh
| every NOR aing- and renewed every even
ing, and will give to them a continual
feast.
Feeding on this bread we shall get
strength for service. II am among you
as he that serveth,n said Christ. We are
| not greater than our L RI, the servant Is
| not above his master. Our aim as Chris
| tians should ever be how to put the most
| OF ourselves into life, not how to get the
| most for ourselves out OF life. We are
| in this world + service. All our talents,
all our time, all our strength should con-
| tribute toward that end. We ought to
be devOut1y thankful every day OF our
lives that people need what we can do
for them; even those who are far more
intelligent than we, far more wealthy
than We, far more talented In every way
than we, need the things that we have
and which they have not. The web of
life In NJ III
er so closely, that one life needs to Join
on to another life at many points OF con-
tact.
The most important factor in the king
dom OF God to-day Is the man who saws,
II cannot, but God cam" Is the man
who does not boast of what he can do,
but who feels keenly his own infirrnity.
Humans weakness, wildly recognized
and sensibJy felt, becomes Omnipotent
strength; for Ii tries to do nothing of
itself, but
RELIES FULLY UPON GOD.
30 long as Jacob wrestled In his own
strength, thinking that he could throw
the angel, he did not prevail; but when
his thigh was ont OF Joint and he felt his
inability 60 prolong the contest,
then the blessing came. He
went limping the rest OF his
lie. but the night In which the limpiDg
came made him prince with God. While
Paul was pvaying for the thorn to be re-
| moved, he could not see ANYTHING else
but the thorn; he thought that d hin
draDce 90 bis work and did not see how
his work could be done unless the thorn
was taken away. At last, however, he
was led TO see that by means of the thorn
q wonderful york % grace Was wrought,