The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1900-09-28

How much OF tnat numlllty navc
we? If we get few more dollars
than other people or gain little high
er position, oh, how we strut! We
go around wanting everybody to know
their place and say: els not this
great Babylon that | have built for
the honor of my kingdom and by the
might of my strength" Who has
ANYTHING of the humility of Christ?
The disposition of Christ was also
the spirit of prayer. Prayer on the
mountains, prayer on the sea, prayer
among the sick, prayer everywhere.
Prayer for little children: Father,
| thank Thee that Thou hast hidden
these things from the wise and pru-
dent and revealed them unto babes"
Prayer for His friends: Father, I
! will that they be with Me where l
am" Prayer for His enemies: "Fa-
Their, forgive them; they know not
what they do" Prayer for all ma
tons: "Thy kingdom come" How
little of that spirit you and ! have.
How soon our knees get tired. Where
is the vial full of odors which are
|
of us can keep our mind ten min
utes on prayer without wandering?
Not you, not |. Oh, that we might
have the spirit of prayer which was
the spirit of Christ. We want more
prayer in the family, more prayer in
! the church, more prayer in the legis-
lative hall, more prayer among the
sick, more prayer among the aged,
more prayer among the young. TIL
great advancement of the church is
to be in that direction yet.
While the council of Nuremberg
was signing the edict that gave the
church it's freedom, Martin Luther
was away off in a room by himself
praying for that accomplishment.
Though there was no line of COM
munication between the place where
the council was assembled and the
room where Martin Luther was pray
ing Martin Luther suddenly rose from
his knees and said at is accom-
plished; the church is free. Victory,
victory!" Oh, for this direct line of
communication with the throne of
God, so that 1t may be said of us
as it was said of Luther: "He got
what he asked for!" We want, like
Daniel, to pray with our face toward
the holy city. We want, like Stephen,
to pray gazing into Heaven We want,
like the publican, to pray shifting on
the heart of conviction. We want,
like Christ, to pray the Christ who
emptied His heart of all its life
blood and then filled it with the sor-
rows, the woes, the agonies of all
nations.
Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witnessed the fervor of his prayer.
The spirit of Christ, I remark lastly,
was spirit of hard work. Not one lazy
moment in all His life. Whether He
was talking to the fishermen on the
beach or preaching to the sailors on
the dock or administering to the rus
tics amid the mountains or spending
an evening in Bethany, always busy
for others. With hands, heart, head |
busy for others. Hewing in the Naza-
reth carpenter shop, teaching the lame
how to walk without crutches, curing |
the child's fits, providing rations for
the hungry host. Busy, busy, busy!
The hardy men who pulled the net out
of the sea filed with foundering treas
ures, the shepherds who hunted up
grassy plots for their fiocks to nibble
at, the shipwrights pounding away in
the drydocks, the winemakers of En-
gedi dipping the juices from the vat
and pouring them into the goatskins,
were not more busy than Christ. Busy,
busy for others. From the moment
He went out of the caravansary of
Bethlehem to the moment when the
cross plunged into the socket on the
bloody mount, busy for others. Does
that remind you of yourself? 1t does
burden, it must be light. If we do
work, it must be popular If we sit
in the pew, it must be soft. If we
move in a sphere of usefulness, it must
be brilliant. If we have to take hold
of load, give us the light end of the
log. In this way to Heaven fan us,
rock us, sing us to sleep. Lift us up
toward Heaven on the tips of your
fingers under a silken sunshade. Stand /
out of the way, all you martyrs who
breasted the fire! Stand out of the
way and let this colony of tender-foot-
ed modern Christians come up and
get their crowns!
What has your Lord done to YOU,
o Christian, that you should betray
Him? Who gave you so much riches
that you can afford to despise the
awards of the faithful? At this mo-
ment, when all the armies of Heaven
and earth and hell are plunging into
the conflict, how can you desert the
standard? Oh, backslidden Christian
is it not time for you to start anew
for Heaven?
Now, l have shown, you that the dis
position of Christ was spirit of gem
tleness, a spirit of self-sacrifice, a
spirit of humility, a spirit of prayer,
a spirit of hard work-five points. Will
you remember them? Are you ready
now for the tremendous announce
ment of the text? "If any man have
not the spirit of Christ he is none of
His" Are you ready for that state
Can Won stand nm and eou, ,