Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-01-04
Being a Christian.

BY Bishop Vincent: 1t is not a hard
matter to be a Christian; on the con-
trary, it is very easy. 1t may be diff
cult to make up your mind and to de-
eide in favor of Christian life. But
all the trouble is with yourself in that
respect. When you have fixed your
purpose and taken the decisive step, it
is as easy as riding in railway train
among mountains and valleys, over
bridges and through tunnels. You
take the train; the engine and the
trainmen do the rest You could not
lay the track. You could not build a
car. You could not even run a loco
motive. But when track, car, locomo-
tive, engineer, conductor and ticket
are all ready for you, and you want to
CO. there is no difficulty. You consent,
and you 60. In being a Christian it
does not depend on what you do or on
how you feel. 1t is, so far as you are
concerned, a question of what you
really want and what you will. The
want and the will, the desire and the
resolve, make what we call the ruI-
ing love of man. If he covets wealth
and resolves to have it, we say. HE
loves money" If he Graves learning
and determines to attain it, we say,
He loves culture" Now the very
soul of religion is love for truth and
righteousness; that is, rightness of
soul toward God, toward Gods ideal
for man (Which we call his will" or
law, and toward people. To love
God and to love man is the substance,
the essence, of religion Now Jesus
Christ has told man more about such
things than anyone else He packed
into his short life of service-three
years-more than all the sages. re-
formers, and teachers of all the CEN
turtles put together have been able
to give us. He came to tell, but chiefly
to show, what real righteousness is.
He taught; but he also lived. Ana
his was life of obedience and beauty,
of prayer and sympathy. He lived;
but he also died. All that his death
meant no one can tell. But it GER
tainly sets forth the greatness of
Gods love for us, and the worth of
our souls in Gods sight. and the evil
of sin and the power of holiness. 1t
is mystery, you say? Yes, but it is
mystery of love. 1t hangs like a
dark and heavy cloud, but like the
Shekinah of old, it hides radiance ana
glory at the heart of 1.-THE radiance
and glory of inconceivable and mex
tinguishable love. To trust Jesus is
the soul of subjective religion; to read
the facts about him and take them
for true" You may trust him with
your sins and weakness and evil ten
Misunderstanding yourself in his care
as in sickness you cast yourself in ut
ter helplessness on kind friend. who
is not only friend but skilled physi-
clan and tender nurse. You abandon
yourself to such care You do not
have to try to get Jesus to take you
into his care. You do not have to try
to get air and sunshine. There is such
abundance of both that all you have
to do is to let yourself alone, and sim
ply breathe and look. The air does its
own work. and so does the sunshine,
when both are permitted to have their
own way. All you have to do is not
to shut them off Jesus is the air of
the Spirit, in whom we live and move
and have our being. He is the Sun of
Righteousness, and there is healing, the
balm Of life. in his light. You can
not save yourself from self and sin.
But you can be still and let Christ
save you. You cannot furnish air for
breathing. sunshine for seeing. or a
Christ for savingl But you can breathe
and look and trust Do you really
want all this? Do you want deliver
ance from self and sin? Do you want
to rest in Gods provision for your
spiritual life2 Then do you will it?
Can You say. do you say. Il win leave
my soul, my sins. my past, my future.
my all with Jesus Chris? ?" If you
really want and really will, then you
really love. Ii Jesus were to ring the
bell or knock, and you were to go to
- nnuuaSere sure--Dpr-