The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1899-12-20
IN HIS STEPS.
" 1t1hat 1l]uulN
Jesus 10 2"
CONTINUED from last week. j
BY Charles M. Sheldon.
copyrighted and published In book form by the
Adpdnce Publishing Co. OF Chicago.

His appeal was stronger at this point
than he knew. 1t is not too much to
say that the spiritual tension of the
First church reached its highest point
right there. The imitation of Jesus
which had begun with the volunteers
in the church was working like leaven
in the organization, and Henry Max
well would, even thus early in his new
life, have been amazed if he could have
measured the extent of desire ON the
part of his people to take up the cross.
While he was speaking this morning,
before he closed with loving appeal to
the discipleship of 1000 years knowl-
edge of the Master, many man and
woman in the church was saying, as
Rachel had said so passionately to her
mother: II want to do something that
will cost me something in the way of
sacrifice. / am hungry to suffer some
thing. Truly, Mazzini was right when
he said, ''No appeal is quite so power
full in the end as the call. Come and
suffer -
The service was over. the great audi
ence had gone, and Henry Maxwell
again faced the company gathered in
the lecture room as on the two previous
Sundays He had asked all to remain
who had made the pledge of disciple
ship and any others who wished to be
included. The after service seemed now
TO be a necessity. As he went in and
faced the people there his heart trem-
bled There were at least 200 present.
The Holy Spirit was never so manifest.
He missed Jasper Chase, but all the
others were present. He asked Milton
Wright TO pray The very air was
charged with divine possibilities. What
could resist such baptism of power?
How had they lived all these years
without it?
They counseled together, and there
were many prayers. Henry Maxwell
dated from that meeting some of the
serious events that afterward became
part of the history of the First church
of Raymond. When finally they went
home, all Of them were impressed with
the JOY of the Spirits power
Donald Marsh, president of Lincoln
college, walked home with Henry Max
we'll
Il have reached one consclusion,
Maxwell, said Marsh, speaking slow
ly. Il have found my cross, and it is a
heavy one, but l shall never be satisfied
until take it up and carry it. y
Maxwell was silent. and the presi-
dent went on;
"Your sermon today made clear to
me what / have long been feeling l
ought to do. What would Jesus do in
my place? l have asked the question
repeatedly since / made my promise. l
have tried 90 satisfy myself that he
would simply 90 on, as | have done, at
tending TO the duties Of my college,
teaching the classes in ethics and phi
losophy. But l have not been able to
avoid the feeling that he would do
something more. That something is
what / do not want TO do. 1t will cause
me genuine suffering to do it, / dread
it with all my soul. You may be able
to guess what it is >
Eyes; l think know" Henry Max
well replied. 1T is my cross too. l
would almost rather do anything else. +"
Donald Marsh looked surprised, then
relieved. Then he spoke sadly but
with great conviction:
Maxwell, you and | belong to a
class of professional men who have al
ways avoided the duties of citizenship.
We have lived in little world of schol-
arly seclusion, doing work we have en-
joyed and shrinking from the disagree
able duties that belong TO the life of
the citizen. | confess with shame that
l have purposely avoided the response
bility that / owe TO this city personally.
l understand that our city officials are
a corrupt, unprincipled set of men,
controlled IN large part by the whisky
element, and thoroughly selfish, so far
as the affairs of city government are
concerned. Yet all these years l, with
nearly every teacher in the college, have
been satisfied TO let other men run the
municipality and have lived in a little
world of my own, out of touch and
sympathy with the real world Of the
people What would Jesus dor have
tried even TO avoid an honest answer
1 can no longer do so. Ny plain duty is
to take personal part in this coming
election, go TO the primaries, throw the
weight of my influence, whatever 1t is,
toward the nomination and election of
good men and plunge into the very
depths of this entire horrible whirlpool
of deceit, bribery, political trickery and
saloonism as it exists in Raymond to-
day. / would sooner walk up to the
mouth Of cannon any time than do
this. dread it because hate the touch
of the whole matter.
81 would give almost anything to be
able to say, Il do not believe Jesus
would do anything of the sort, but ]
am more and more persuaded that he
would. This is where the suffering
comes to me. 1t would not hurt me
half so much to lose my position or my
home. loathe the contact with this
municipal problem. l would much pre-
fer to remain quietly in my scholastic
life with my classes in ethics and phi
losophy, but the call has come so plain
ly that cannot escape: Donald Marsh,
follow me. Do your duty as a citizen OF
Raymond at the point where your citi-
III oc,,,,41,tnrr 81