The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-03-12
OUR PERSONAL POSSESSIONS.

the world, or life, or death, or tilAS-
present, or things to come, all az
yours. iii, Fl, ".
This text puzzled me for many years
That it was a statement of fact / nae
no doubt, for I regarded st. Paul as
scholar and a philosopher, as well al
an inspired teacher. And yet was OILY
too conscious that l had no persona
sense of possession, but, on the con
trary, was oppressed by my poverty o.
body, mind and spirit. If all things were
mine, in what way could estapllsf
my claim to them and enter into the
enjoyment of them?
The question was solved in the most
unexpected way. On an August even
ing l was sitting under a tree by a
country roadside in company with q
thoughtful man and his little famlly
The sky was cloudless after sultry
day, and the breeze made an Aeollan
harp of the branches overhead we
listened to it's music in silence for a
while, and then my friend, who was an
ordinary workman, but whose soul had
discovered many a secret, preached a
sermon which | shall now repeat to
you
/ am one of the richest men in the
world, he said, and my wealth is so
abundant that l cannot possibly make
full use of it. My only debt is debt
of gratitude to God, and | can neither
pay it here nor hereafter. Then after
moment, he added ] am the rlghtful
owner of the universe.
! Look at that broad landscape stretch
ing for many a mile to the horizon;
that valley which has been fashioned
after millions Of years of patient work
and is now bearing a rich harvest in
| its embrace; that rivulet which babies
close at hand, singing its TIE Deum
| through the long days and nights; that
wooded mountain which stands like a
| giant holding up the siSy-these are all
mine, / gaze at my large possessions
in raptur0us worship; they are the
temple in which l pray; they are the
altar at which / kneel and ask pardon
for duties left undone My Father
built this temple for me; for you also,
but your right to it does not interfere
with mine, nor mine with yours. We
need engage in no litigation to decide
which has the better claim. Some one
thinks this land is his and his deed is
in the registrars office, but he is mis-
taken, for it is ours as well as his and
the enjoyment of it lie for any one who
has the capacity Of appreciation.
And see the stars coming out in their
rich sphndor one by one as the day
light fades. They are also mine: they
shine on me and for me. They tell me
strange stories of infinite space, inf
mite power, infinite love. The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the firma
ment showeth His handwork, and
armament, heavens and God are all
mine.
Look at wife and children, also, play
ing with pebbles or eleeping on the
mothers BOSOM He has given them to
me that I may have home on earth
which will tell me something about the
home above. The affection which binds
us into a family bundle, the RESPONSE
bilities of parentage, the dreams which
come to me of my boys future are from
His hand. are His gift. Can I be too
thankful for such bounty, and when |
/ have SO much can | ask for more?
] come home fra,n my daily toll, and |
the kiss on my cheek, the pressure of |
the little arms about my neck are my |
evening benediction. I am more than |
/ am oppressed with the |
weight Of my blessings.
But that is not all, There is more,
so much more that there is not time |
to tell it, Christ is mine, and Ills re-
ligion was mine. The New Testament |
was written for me, and 1t is poe
session of which no man can rob me.
My house may burn, my crops may fail
my savings may be stolen, but the
good Cheer of Christ is always secure
The love Of the Father, which He has
revealed is great reservoir Of
strength from which l draw in all the
of life My whole being
s illumined by thoughts which had to
be told me by this Messenger from
above, for | could never have discov-
cred them of myself. They are my
my moonlight, my starlight,
Yes, and best of ALL heaven is mine
when life has no more work for me to
To- The day that is done is the pro-
ohecy of another day to come, and the
ife that is spent assures us Of another
ife about to begin. My youngest child
eft us in the winter We mourned,
'or it is hard to part with such gifts
If God. But my heaven was his also.
he went into no strange country; he
,nly went home. We shall see him
again. / sometimes think / can hear
lis voice even now, and the pattering
# his little feet, and when the shadows
all for us who are getting old, he
will be on the threshold to bid us well
ome.
My friend was right. He was one Of
he rich men of the earth. His wealth
vas not in coin, but In a faith which
DIN could not buy My puzzle was
olved, and / know what the text
means If God is our God and we can
all upon Him in our daily need; if
,hrist and His revelations are all for
IS and we have a right to appropriate
hem our personal use; If we are in
UGH frame of mind that the beauties
f the physical universe belong to us
0 enjoy them to the utmost limit of our
apacity if heaven is ours and we can
1ok forward not with hope merely, but
With certainty, to a reunion with the
elOved, we have riches beyond the
ompass of thought, and we may well