Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-10-06

W Sleep uuu cut uuu eAeIClSe uuIlHS
the day. Then alone in the quietude
of the long hours of the night, when
the whole world was asleep, l was
solving the different problems of the
chessboard. At last by this work 1 so
perfected my memory that blindfolded
1 have met ten and fifteen different
players at the same time. l have car
ried all these different games in my
head at once and won them ALL" The
opportunity for great success in any
department of life never comes except
to him who has equipped himself by a
rigid course of preparation and mex
orable training.
The Christians Preparation.
This premise being true. it is essen
tial that the Christian should conse-
crate his life to Christ in order to be
prepared for the great opportunities of
Christian service. 1t is very impor-
tant for you and me to live close to
Christ, to feel the touch of Christ's
amounting hands upon our hearts, to
feel the touch Of his loving lips on our
cheeks, the touch of his amounting foot
upon our feet, before we can go forth
successfully on our mission of Chris
tian service. Many failures in the
Christian life can be traced directly to
this lack of spiritual preparation. Fail
ing such preparation, we cannot rec
ogniZe our opportunity when it comes.
An ancient sculptor once chiseled the
statue of the NEUROLOGICAL goddess
called Opportunity with a yelled
face He said, 1.-THE reason | covered
Opportunities face was because so few
are able to recognize her when she
stands by their sde." The sculptor
was wrong in part as well as right in
part. He should have blinded the eyes
of the Onlooker rather than the farsee-
ing eyes of the Psychological goddess.
The chief reason why some of us do
not see the sweet faced Pauline mes
sengers, which we may call the Oppor-
tunities of Christian service. is because
most of us are spiritually blinded by
our past sins, because most of us are
not willing by prayer and earnest COM
munion with God to make the spiritual
preparation that is necessary to fit us
Alright for gospel work.
But more than mere equipment is
necessary. Great opportunities are
willing to bless those only who are
ready to sacrifice and. if need be, to
die for the cause those opportunities
represent. There is a wide difference
between being mentally. physically and
spiritually equipped to meet a great
opportunity and being willing to make
the sacrifice that is essential for the
success of that cause after the oppor-
and spiritually able to realize the ma
ture of the opportunity of his position.
He knew that Jesus was guiltless. He
saw clearly and distinctly what he
ought to do, but PLATE was not ready
to sacrifice for Christ his political ca
reer as governor of Jud9a. Therefore
| Plate, who saw his opportunity, en-
braced it not, but sl!rank from it.
Thomas Cranmer. when the days of
persecution came, saw what his oppor-
| tunity was for true service for Christ,
but in order to escape the fires of mar
| tyrdom he testified falsely concerning
his belief in his Lord and Master, and
when he was finally led to the stake.
in spite of his recantation, he gave this
| as his valedictory to the world: Nov
l come to the great thing that trou-
| bleth my conscience more than any
other thing that ever said or did, and
| that Is the setting abroad of writings
contrary to the truth that l thought
in my heart, and, forasmuch as my
hand offended in writing contrary to
my heart, therefore my hand shall first
be punished. If | may come to the
fire, it shall first be burned" And his.
tory declares that when the fires OF
martyrdom were kindled about Thomas
Cranmer. in atonement for his past
sins and his failure to live up to his
opportunity, the dying prelate thrust
his right hand into the leaping flames
and saw it wither away. So there are
many men who are mentally equipped
for great opportunities of Christian
service who might also be spiritual,
equipped for those same opportunitie
were they not unwilling to make thu
sacrifice which true conservation de
mands. They are unwilling to do TO
Christ that which they know the.
ought to do.
Make the Sacrifice.
Christ's disciples today often shrinl
from making the same kind of sacrific
for Christian service which Richar
Fuller made when young man. A
that time he was the most promisin
junior member of the South CAROLYN
bar. He was the pride of the city an
!: the future hope of the state. But. be
} ing converted. he Immediately turne
, his back on political preferment, RI
nounced public life and declared tina
/ he would consecrate his life Themes
forth to the gospel ministry. HI
| friends tried to dissuade him. Hol
William E. Preston. Mr.. Calhoun's CO
: league in the United States senat
J went to his home to plead with hin
| Then young Fuller turned and sait