Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-09-26

rise so high IN the spiritual life that
you viii not care what people may say
or think about you or yours as long as
you can bring these people 10 love and
live for Christ. Humanity speaking, II
is awfully hard TO bear the petty an
noyances OF your neighbors. criticising
you and saying mean things about your
wife and children. 1t is hard, from
human standpoint. 10 refrain from
flinging a stone at the locusts OF evil
naggings which are buzzing about you
and your loved ones. But by the grace
Of God you can live down these petty
apnoyances. You can go on doing your
work, even as Christ went on doing his
work, In spite OF the 1eers and the
SCOTS which the Pharisees uttered
against him and his disciples.
III you are absorbed I'm your Divine
Masters work, you VIII receive suffi-
Gent grace to make you indifferent to
the little annoyances caused by what
people may say against you. You will
be like that gateman whom Major Cole
some years ago saw i'm Chicago de
pot. 1t was during bitterly cold
night. Many male passengers were
grumbling and complaining because
this gateman made every one of these
men unbutton his coat and show his
ticket before he could go to his train.
my friend" said Major Cole. ''you do
not seem very popular with the passen-
gers of this road" "No," answered the
gateman with a smile, but that does
not concern zee. So long as l obey or
ders l am all right. There is only one
man whose good opinion affects me,
and that is the president of the road.
So long as he is satisfied do not care
what these people say" In order to
overcome the locust burden of what
fault finders may say against you, re-
member, my Christian brothers, our
duty is not to please man, but God, and
God alone. After you are convinced
that in what you do you are pleasing
God ii makes but little difference what
any enemy-man, woman or child
may say against you or your loved
ones.
Walking with Christ.
The increasing signs of physical and
mental decadenee can also be classed
among the burdens OF the buzzing To-
Gust. The annoyance of feeling that
your eyes are becoming nearsighted
and that you have to wear glasses and
sit very close to the light when you
read the Bible or the evening news
paper. The annoyance of having the
eardrum refuse to clearly throw the
echoing sound into the brain. as 1t once
did The annoyance of not being able
to run for street car or to step off
that car when 1t is I'm motion. The an
noyance Of having some young fellow
In the car arise and offer you q seat,
as though you were an old man. Or.
what is worse than all. the ANNOYANCE
OF feeling that you cannot DO as much
work and do IL as quickly as you once
dld few years ago. As your brain
power seems to lose its grip you pee
vishly place your hand upon your fore
head and say: ~ do not know what is
the matter with my brain. My memory
seems to nave completely left me.
cannot recall the simplest names or
facts. have to make memorandum
OF everything. Even my children have
TO look after me now as though l was n
little child"
When the faculties begin to fail and
the hair to whiten, the burden OF the
locusts becomes very heavy to bear I'M
less man as n Christian is walking
side by side with Christ. Even the
Christian Will find this burden a heavy
burden unless he has an extra amount
or divine grace given to him. Mr..
Beecher once said that one of the sad
N 10
realization first came upon him that
he was going down the hillside of life
and very soon would not be as phys
ically strong or as mentally alert as
Formerly. The Plymouth pastor said
that this saddening realization came
upon him one day when he was at
TO dodge In and out Of the
carriages and stages and dray wagons
that were moving up and down Broad
way. AS he was in the middle of that
thoroughfare he heard n driver angrily
call out two or three times: Get out
of the way, old mani Haven't you any
sense? Are you too old To think? Get
out of the way, there. gray hairs, or
you'll be run DOWN. Mr.. Beecher hur-
riedly looked around to find out what
DID man was In danger. To his sur
prise and chagrin, he found that the
1rayman was shouting TO him and that
he and no other was the "old man."
IL Is not a hard struggle to physically |
die. Dying is just as natural an act |
Tor the body as Is the act OF being |
born. But IL is hard TO grow old. 10 |
-eei that you have to ride when once |
&c was an exhilaration TO walk. to |
Know that the mind is falling, that the !
heart has not the old yigor. that the
iand which once grasped and welded 1
ne hilt OF sword must now do the
small chores around the old homestead. |
e Is hard to know that upon the trem-
bling shoulders OF old age even the
weight Of a small grasshopper's body
an become burden, n heavy, crush
ng burden.
The Great Burden Bearer.
fet, my friends, amid the decaying
aculties OF old age the grace OF the
~ord Jesus Christ is sufficient TO over
ONE the burden Of the buzzing locusts.
y nat was the testimony OF the aged
thomas Guthrie. the great Christian
Warrior or old Scotland? Standing be-
ore large assemblage OF little chill
lren, he said: Don't call me an old
nan, as some people do. Why, am as
Dung and happy as any child sitting
efore me today. My limbs may not
e as strong as they once were. One
I my feet may be In the grave, but
he other foot is planted upon the earth
nrmly that its leg has sunken knee
eep In the clover tops. My hearing
nay not be as accurate as it once was,
ut my ears are continually hearing
he sounds of sweetest music. My eve
lay not be as keen to read book, but
~ eyesight is continually becoming
iore inspired to see the beauties of
arth as well as the beauties of heaven.
am not an old man. AS approach :
~ second childhood I have hannn 10