Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-09-06

L IL
the seventh heaven might not keep |
your brother from knocking a man
down. had friend who came to me |
and said, Il dc &c not join the church.
| said, why oh" he said, Il have
such a viole temper. Yesterday |
morning | wa crossing very early at
the Jersey CT ferry, and | saw |
milkman pous 4 large quantity OF
water into the milk can, and | said |
to him, 4 thu; that will do. And |
he insulted Re. and | knocked him |
down. Do you think / ought to join |
the church," Nevertheless that very |
same man who was so harsh in his be-
havior loved Christ and could not |
speak of sacred things without tears |
of emotion and affection. Thorns |
without, sweetness within, the best |
specimen of Mexican cactus l ever |
saw.
There are others planted in Christ's
garden who are always radiant, always
impressive, more like the roses of deep
hue that we occasionally find called
giants of BATTLE" the Martin Luthers,
st. Pauls, Chrysostoms, Wycliffes,
Latimers and Samuel Rutherfords.
What in other men is spark in them
is confiagration. When they sweat,
they sweat great drops of b.ooi.
When they pray, their prayer takes
fire. When they preach, it is Pente-
cost When they fight, it is Their
mopylae. When they die, 1t is mar
tyrdom. You find a great many roses
in the gardens, but only few giants
of battle" Men say, Why don't you
have more of them in the church, l
say, "Why don't you have in the world
more Humboldts and Wellingtons?'
God gives to some ten talents, to 9TH
ers one.
In this garden of the church which
Christ has planted also find the snow
drops, beautiful but cold looking,
seemingly another phase of winter l
mean those Christians who are pre-
else in their tastes, unimpassioned.
pure as snowdrops and as cold. They
never shed any tears, they never get
excited, they never say anything rash
ly, they never do anything precipitate-
ly. Their pulses never fiutter, their
nerves never twitch, their indignation
never boils over. They live longer
than most people, but their life is in
minor key. They never run up to "C'
above the staff In their music of life
they have no staccato passages. Christ
planted them in the church. and they
must be of some service or they would
not be there; neutrality-suspicious.
snowdrops.
Most Beautiful Flower.
But | have not told you of the most
beautiful flower in all this garden
| spoken of in the text. II you see a
century plant, your emotions are start
ed. You say, why, this flower has
been hundred years gathering up for
one bloom. and it will be a hundred
years more before other petals will
come out" But l have to tell you of
plant that was gathering up from all
| eternity and that 1900 years ago put
| forth its bloom never to wither. 1t is
| the passion plant of the cross. Pro-
| phets foretold it, Bethlehem shepherds
| looked upon it in the bud, the rocks
shook at its bursting and the dead got
| up in their winding sheets to see its
| full bloom. 1t is crimson flower
| blood at the roots. blood on the
branches, blood on the leaves. It's per-
fume is to fill all the nations. It's
| breath is heaven. Come, oh winds
from the north and winds from the
| south and winds from the east and
winds from the west and bear to all
the earth the sweet smelling SAVIOR OF
| Christ, my Lord!
| His worth If all the nations knew.
Sure the whole earth would love him
Again, the church may be appropri-
ately compared to the garden, because
| it is a place of fruits. That would be
a strange garden which had in it no
berries, no plums or peaches or april
cots. The coarser fruits are planted in
the orchard or they are set out on the
| sunny hillside. But the choicest fruits
| are kept in the garden. So in the world
| outside the church Christ has planted
| a great many beautiful things-pati-
| ence, charity, generosity, integrity.
| But he intends the choicest fruits to be
in the garden, and If they are not there
then shame on the church. Religion
is not mere Towering sentimentality.
1t is a practical, life giving. healthful
| fruit, not posies. but apples.
| Christ Takes the Best Flowers.
| II has Saamad ~ Iacuc Christ tool,
the best. From many of your house,
holds the best one is gone. You know
| that she was too good for this world.
| She was the gentlest in her ways, the
deepest in her affection, and when al
last the sickness came you had no faith
| in medicines. You knew that the hour
of parting had come. and when,
through the rich grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ. you surrendered that
| treasure you said: Lord Jesus, take
it. 1t is the best we have. Take it.
| Thou art worthy" The others in the
household may have been of grosser
mold She was of the finest.
The heaven of your little ones will
not be fairly begun until you get there.
| All the kindnesses shown them by i'm
mortals will not make them forget
you. There they are. the radiant
throngs that went out from your
homes. l throw kiss to
the sweet darlings. They are all well
now in the palace. The crippled child
has a sound foot now. A little lame
child says, MA, will l be lame in
heaven?' mo, my darling, you won't
be lame in heaven" A little sick child
says, MA, will be sick in heaven?"