The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1901-03-01
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those visible.
All ye who bear in your body the
marks of the Lord Jesus have you
thought what use those marks will be
in the heavenly world? What source
of glorious Renaissance! In that
world you will sit together and talk
over earthly experiences. where did
you get that SCARF" saint will say to
saint, and there will come back story
of hardship and struggle and perse-
cution and wounds and victory through
the grace of the Gospel. Another spirit
will say to listening spirit: Where
did you get that hurt so plainly
marked?" And the answer will be:
"Oh, that was one of the worst hurts
ever had. That was broken friend
ship. We were in sweetest accord for
years, together in joy and sorrow.
What one thought the other thought.
We were David and Jonathan. But
our personal interests parted, and our
friendships broke never to be renewed
on earth. But we have made it all up
here, and Misunderstanding are gone,
and we are in the same Heaven, on
neighboring thrones, in neighborlng
castles on the banks of the same river.
''Where did you get that mark? ?"
says another spirit to listening spirit,
and the answer comes: THAT is re-
minder of a great bereavement, of
desolated household, of a deep grave,
of all the heartstrings at one stroke
snapped altogether. But you see 1T is
no longer a laceration, for the wound
has been healed, and my once bereft
spirit is now in companionship with
the one from whom for awhile was
separated" Where did you get that
long, deep SCARF" says another inn
mortal to listening immortal, and the
answer comes: THAT was the awful
fatigue of a lifetime struggle in at
tempting amid adverse circumstances
to achieve a livelihood. For 80 years
1 was tired-oh, so tired! But you
see it is a healed wound, for 1 have
found rest at last for body and soul,
the complete rest, the everlasting rest,
that remaineth for the people of God"
Some one in Heaven will say to Martyr
John Rogers: "Where did you get
that scar on your foot?" and the an
swer will come: "Oh, that was burn
1 suffered when the flames of mar
tyrdom were kindled beneath mel"
"Ignatius, what is that mark on your
cheek?" "Oh, that was made by the
paw of the lion to which 1 was thrown
by the order of Trajan!" Some one
will say to Paul: "Great apostle, that
must have been deep cut once, the
mark which l see on your neck" And
Paul says: THAT was made by the
sword which struck me t my behead-
ment on the road to Ostia." But we all
have scars of some kind, and those are
some of the things we will talk over
in the heavenly world while we cele-
brate the grace that made us triumph
ant over all agnosticism.
Now what is the practical use of
this subject? 1t is the cultivation of
Christian heroics. The most of us
want to say things and do things for
God when there is no danger of get
ting hurt. We are all ready for easy
work, for popular work, for compen-
sating work, but we all greatly need
more courage to brave the world and
brave satanic assault when there is
something aggressive and bold and
dangerous to be undertaken for God
and righteousness. And if we happen
to get bit what an adieu we make about
martyrs are made out of. We want
more sanctified grit, more Christian
pluck, more holy recklessness as to
what the world may say and do in
any crisis of our life. Be right and do
right, and all earth and hell combined
cannot put you down.
The same little missionary who
wrote my text also uttered that piled
up magnificence to be found in those
words which ring like battle axes on
splitting helmets: sin all these things
we are more than conquerors through
Him that loved US, for l am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor an
gels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate US
from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord"
How do you like that, you towards,
who shrink back from aggressive work
and if so much as a splinter pierce
Your flesh cry out louder than many
a one torn in auto da fe? Many a SOL
der has gone through long war, been
in 20 battles, led reg ment up hill
mounted by cannon and swept by mus
kerry and yet came home without hay-
ing been once hit and without a mark
upon him. But it will not be so among
those who pass in the grand review of
Heaven. They have all in the holy
wars been wounded, and all bear scars.
And what would the newly arrived in
Heaven do with nothing to show that
he had ever been struck by human or
diabolic weaponry; how embarrassed
and eccentric such an one in such a
place! Surely he would want to be
excused awhile from the heavenly
ranks and be permitted to descend on
earth, crying: Give me another
chance to do something worthy of an
immortal. Show me some post of
danger to be manned, some fortress to
be stormed, some difficult charge to
make Like Leonidas at Thermopylae,
like Miltiades at Marathon, like Marl-
borough at Blenheim, like Godfrey at
Jerusalem, like Winkelried at Sam
pach gathering the spears of the AUS
trian knights into his bosom, giving
his life for others, show me some place
where 1 can do a brave thing for God.
L cannot go back to Heaven until some
where 1 bear in my body the marks Of
the Lord Jesus" Ny nearer, my read
er, quit complaining about your mis-
fortunes and disappointments AID
troubles and through all time and sl
eternity thank God for scarsi
Thv saints in all this glorious war