Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1900-10-25
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
SERIOUS SUBJECTS CAREFULLY
CONSIDERED.
A Scholarly Exposition of the Lesson
Thoughts Worthy of Calm Refiec
tion-Half an Hours Study of the
Scriptures-Time Well Spent.

| ne pdIdU1c VI = ue IOOiSdl
| Son. forms the lesson for Oct. %, and
| may be found in Luke Is: 11-24. Golden
| text: II will arise and go to my father"
Luke 10: IS.
No passage in the New Testament is
| more familiar than the para BILE of the
| prodigal son. Yet this very familiarity
prevents many readers from approaching
| its matchless beauty. What would not
| some of us give to be able to read this
| wonderful story as if for the first time,
| with the freshness Of apprehension and
| the clearness of vision that we bring to
| the first reading of literary master
| piece. These words that fall so easily
| from our lips and so unconcernedly upon
our ears are words the like of which can
| be found in no other book in the world.
| They picture a divine yearning for wan
| dering men which is beyond the unalded
| speculation of the human mind. Which
| of us looking upon the stars, upon the
rainbow, upon the sea, could guess that
above and beyond them all is being
whose will is perfect love, whose seeking
| love goes out to rescue the poorest and
weakest sinner of us all.
Explanatory.
"Give me the portion of goods that fall
eth to me''; he asks division of the es-
tate in advance of his fathers death.
Possibly the request indicates cruel inn
plication that the father was living too
long and the son was getting impatient
for lis share. At any rate, it shows dis
content and unwillingness to remain sub
ject to parental authority in the family
home, where he had doubtless been COM
sto1n
money that was good for him. Such d.
visions, however, were not encouraged in
that day. The younger son would get
one-third of the property, the elder two
| thirds.
'"Took his journey into a far country;
| sin always seeks to get away from good
ness. The ''black sheep" in the flock
| does his best to escape from the fold.
| The prodigal sought far country where
| he would not be known, where no kind
| ly friends of his father could seek him
| out to trouble him with circumstances;
| where also he could find strange vices
and novel designations to please his
fancy If we suppose Jesus to have
| given any local setting to his story, the
''far country might be Tyre, or Da-
mascus, or Alexandria, or Corinth. The
| ''riotous living" included every form Of
| degrading indulgence. A smaller man,
| less mastery teacher than Jesus would
| have enlarged on the disgusting phases
| of this wretched period of sin. Jesus
| passes swiftly over that, labelling the
| whole miserable business with a burning
| phrase.
"There arose mighty famine" Soon
| err or later sin always brings famine.
| Usually it brings the sinner to material
| want Always it brings soul famine,
| desolating and awful
| Joined himself to- a citizen of that
| country; the spendthrift becomes the
| slave He who had given orders now
! takes orders, with kicks for reward.
| Feeding swine was well nigh the lowest
| of all occupations: to Jew 1t would be
| the depth of degradation.
'"The husks that the swine did eat ac-
| cording to Canon Tristram, ''the pods
! and seeds of the locust or carob tree
| long, curved pods, which are used for
| feeding cattle, and are largely exported
| to England for feeding horses, under the
name of locust beans. Latin classical
authors speak of the locust bean as the
| food of the most miserable OF the people
in the last extremity"
! ..When he came to himself; there is d
| golden text for any preacher. In 1t lies
! the great mystery and miracle of repent
| ance and the vindication of the real self
| as nobler than the self that is governed
| by the senses. When a man comes tc
| himself he is not saved-here is where
| the ethical cultursts are in error; but he
| is ready to start on the road to God. The
/ object of ali evangelstic preaching is
| two-fold; to bring men to themselves. and
| to guide them to Jesus Christ.
The rehearsing of the speech in verse
! Is that the prodigal will make is wonder
| fully true to human nature. Who OF us
| does not find himself sometimes planning
| elaborate explanations that he will make
/ on a future occasion to some friend about
| a misunderstanding or quarrel: And
how often, like the prodigal, we forget
| our speeches when the time comes.
| "And he arose.; many prodigal has
/ come to himself, and has planned repent
ant speeches, but has failed at the crit
/ zeal moment when he must arise and
! start back home. No man can repent
/ unless he is ready to arise and to move
| homeward. The real repentance comes
| when the prodigal stands upon his feet
| and turns back. The father had been
| waiting for the son all these years. tef-
haps he had often gone to the hdusetop
| in the afternoon to look off down the road
! in the hope that some sign might be seen
| of the absent boy. Love sharpened his
eyesight. and now when the looked-for
moment arrived the father was hurrying
1 to meet the tattered, emaclated creature
| limping up to the old homestead.
Whether the boy forgot his request to
| ~l,o%l, %qhn fafh
in eagerness interrupted him, we cannot
4 fell But the father would have listened
r. no such request Highest honors were
waiting for the prodigal. Did he de-
serve them? No DO we deserve the
wealth of love and forgiveness and bless.
| ing that God lavishes upon us? No. But
| divine love knows no measure.
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