Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-01-14
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J
ries on earth and in your form of
church government. How did you get
in?' Saved by grace" is the heaven
~ reply, saved by grace" The begot
/ is embarrassed and feels for his creed
and his catechism, and, 10, they were
, left on the banks of the river Jordan
as he passed through, and he cries out:
II think 1 will have to enter on the
same terms. Saved by grace"
Denominations of Christians on earth
were necessary in order to better work
and to suit preferences, as an army
must be divided into regiments, yet
one army; as a neighborhOOd must be
divided into families, though one neigh
bOrhOOd. But there is no need for such
divisions in heaven, and therefore all
belong to one denomination of saint
hood. Christ said in one of his SER
mons that there would be laughter in
heaven. BLESSED are We that weep
now, for We shall laugh And what
could cause more merriment among the
glorified than a rehearsal of the earth
~ differences between Christians, diff
ferences once seeming Of such vast i'm
portance, but differences unknown
amid the heavenly worshipers? What
will be the bigot's amazement when he
sees seated side by side on the banks of
the river Of life Calvin and ArminiuS,
Archbishop Cranmer and some dissent
ing preacher Of the gospel who never
graduated, one who on earth was
robed and surpliced ecclesiastic, and
backwOOds minister who in the log cab
in meeting house preached in a linen
buster? Among the great surprises of
heaven for the bigot will be the celes-
tial friendliness of those who on earth
opposed each other in wrathiest polem-
les. He will get through the gate, for
he has a spark of divine grace in his
heart, but there will not be an inch of
room to spare on either side of him. 1t
will not take long for heaven to edu-
cate him into a glorious big hearted
ness.
Mcanness Colby Welcomed.
Again, the penurious Christian will
not have an abundant entrance. Per
haps he was not converted until all his
habits of tight fistedness were fixed be-
yOnd recovery. The people who are
generous were taught to be generous in
childhood. You can tell from the way
that boy divides the apple what his
characteristics for generosity or mean
ness will be for the next so years if he
lives so long. If he eat it all himself
while others look wistfulIy on, he will
be a Shylock. If he give half of it to
some one who has no apple, he will be
an ordinarily generous man. If he give
ee-fourths of it to another, he will
be a Baron Hirsch or a George Pea
body.
For 80 years this man has been
practicing an economy which prided
itself on never passing pin without
picking it up, and if he responded at
all in church would put on the collec-
ton plate so insignificant a coin that
he held his hand over it SO that no one
could discover the smallneSs of the
denominatio Somewhere in the fif-
ties or sixties of his life, during a re-
vival of religion, he became a Chris
tan. He is very much changed in
most respects. but his all absorbing ac-
qusitiveness still influences him. To
extract from him a gift for an orphan
age or a church OF a poor woman who
has just been burnt out is an achieve
ment. You and l know very good
men, their Christian character beyond
dispute, and yet they are pronounced
by all as penuriOus, and they know it
themselves and pray against it. We
all have our bad habits and yet expect
to get to heaven, and this Skinf1int has
his mighty temptation. The passion
of avarice we'll illustrated it's strength
when in one of the houses of eXhumed
POmpeii was found the skeleton of a
man who was trying to escape with 60
coins and u silver saucepan. For those
valuableS he dared the ashes and ScOria
of. Vesuvius which overwhelmed him,
and many a good man has been held
nightly by avarice. But the day is
coming for that penurious Christians
departure from the world. He has an
awful struggle in giving up his gov
eminent securities. The attorney who
drew his last will and testament saw
how hard it was for him to leave his
farm or his storehouse or investments,
especially those that in the markets are
called gilt edged. Those that yield
only 3 per cent he easily resigns to the
care Of his executors, but those that
yield s CT 9 or 10 per cent, how can
he give them up while the market is
still rising? Bolstered up in bed, know
ing he has got to sign it, he reads the
document over and over again, and
then, with a manner that seems to
say, "Well. if 1 must, must" he signs
his name to that surrender of his last
farthing of earthly possessions. He
enters heaven, but he has not an abun-
dant entrance.
Glorious Admission.
But that brings me to the other
thought of my text, that there are
those who will when they leave this
life bound into heaven amid salutations