Middletown transcript., 1900-03-10

the church do lis duty in following
Jesus when It gives little money to
establish missions or relieve cxtrelne
cases Of want? Is it any sacriico for a
man who il worth $4,000, 900 siripiy
to give $4,000 for some benevolent
work7 Is he not giving sazaathiug that
costs him practically nothing. 50 far as
any personal pain or suifsring goswg IL
it true that the Christian t.i.ciaies to-
day in most Of our churches Era livirA.s,
soft, easy. selfish lives. very far from
any sacrifice that can be called sacriGcef :
What would Jesus dot
sit is the personal element that
Christian discipIeship needs tc eng lsia-
size. The gift without tbp girer is
bare. The Christianity tisat attempts
to suffer by proxy is not the CiiriSti;.r-
ity of Christ. Each individual Chris
tian, business man, citizen, needs to
follow in his steps elong the Path Of
personal sacrifice for him. There is Eot
different path today from ti2t of
Jesus own times 1t is the sane path.
The call of this dying century and Of
the new one soon to be is called fer a
new discipleship, new fellowship OF
Jesus more like the early, siIaplo apos-
tolic Christianity when the disciples
left all and literally followed the Mas
ter. Nothing but disciplesEip 2 Of this
kind can face the destructive Sc l1ishncss
of the age with any hope Of overcoming
it. There is great quantity OF nom
inal Christianity today. There is need
of more of the real kind We Eeed a
revival of the Christianity of Christ
| We have, unccnsciously, lazily. selfish
", formally. grown into discipleship
that Jesus himself would net acknowl-
edge. He would say to many of us
when we cry, Lord. Lord. 4 never
knew you Are we ready to take up
the crossH Is it possible for this church
to sing with exact truth;
Jesus my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow thee?
'sIf we can sing that truly, then we
may claim discipleship, but if our def
milton of being Christian is simply to
enjoy the privileges Of worship, be gen.
erous at no expense to ourselves, have
a good, easy time, surrounded by pleas
ant friends and by comfortable things,
live respectfully and at the same time
avoid the worlds great stress of sin and
trouble because it is too much pain to
bear it-if this is our definition of
Christianity, surely we are a long way
from following the steps Of him who
trod the way with groans and tears and
sobs Of anguish for lost humanity
who sweat, as it were, great drops of
blood; who cried out on the upreared
cross, MY God. my God, why hast thou
forsaken mef'
care we ready to make and live a
new discipleship? Are we ready to re-
consider our definition of a Christian
What is it to be Christian2 It is to
initiate Jesus. 1t is to do as he would
do. 1t is to walk in his steps. :"
When Henry Maxwell finished his
sermon, he paused and looked at the
people with look they never forgot
and at the moment did not understand
Crowded into that fashionable church
that day were hundreds of men and
women who had for years lived the
easy, satisfied life of a nominal Chris
tianity. A great silence fell over the
congregation. Through the silence there
came to the consciousness of all the
souls there present knowledge, stran-
ger to them now fo years, of Divine
power. Every one xpected the preacher
to call for volunteers who would do as
Jesus would do, but Henry Maxwell
had been led by the Spirit to deliver
his message this time and wait for re-
suits to come.
He closed the service with a tender
prayer that kept the Divine presence
lingering very near every he2rer, and
the people slowly rose to go out.
Then followed scene that would
have been impossible if any mere man
had been alone in his striving for re-
suits
Men and women ii gTeas numbers
crowded around the platform to see
Henry Maxwell and to bring him tbs
promise of their conservation to thu
pledge to do as Jesus would do. 1t
was voluntary, spontaneous move
ment that broke upon Maxwell's soul
with result he could not measure. But
had he not been praying for this very
thing3 1t was an answer that more
than met his desires.
There followed this movement a
prayer service that in its impressions
repeated the Raymond experience. In
the evening, to MaxweIPs intense Joy,
the Endeavor society, almost to a mem
Der, came forward, as SO many Of the
church members had done in the morn
ing, and seriously. solemnly, tenderly,
took the pledge to do as Jesus would
do. A deep wave of spiritual baptism
broke over the meeting near its close
that was indescribable in its tender.
| joyful, sympathetic results
That was a remarkable day in the
| history of that church, but even more
30 in the history of Henry Maxwell. He
left the meeting very late. He went to
his room at the settlement, where he
was still stopping, and after an hour
with the bishop and DR.. Bruce, spent in
q joyful rehearsal of the wonderful
events Of the day, he sat down to think
over again by himself all the experience
he was having as Christian disciple.
He meeled to pray, as he always did
now, before going to sleep. and it was
while he was on his knees this night
that he had waking vision of what
might be in the world when once the
new discipleship had made its way into
the conscience and consciousness of
Christendom. He was fully conscious Of
being awake, but no less certainly did
1t seem to him that he saw certain re-
suits with great distinctness, partly as
realities Of the future, partly as great
longings that they might be realities,
and this is what Henry Maxwell saw in
this waking vision:
He saw himself first going back to the
First church in Raymond, living there
IN simpler, more self denying fashion
than he had yet been willing to observe,
because he saw ways in which he could
help others who were really dependent
on him FOR help. He also saw more dim
| y that the time would come when his
! position as pastor Of the church would
cause him to suffer more. on account of
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