The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1902-07-26

encouraging to excesses and indulg-
ences which would never be thought
of In the soberer moments. 1t Is
robbing a privilege of it's wholesome
fruit, and is changing in the worlds
laboratory of opportunity, by the
chemistry of reckless human ingen-
uity, a blessing into positive curse.
Here Ii where the warning note |
wants to be struck. Here Is where
Gods voice needs to be heard and
needed. Not a cry against vacation
rest, but against the unrest Of the
| age, which turns the Saturday half
holiday into blighting influence and
the summertime outing into Pc
riod of unrestrained indulgence In
every within and caprice the self-in-
dulgent flesh bankers after. The
perversion of the Saturday half-hoH-
day is beginning to cast its miasmal
pail over the Lords day and IL sap
ping the spiritual life and strength
of the disciples of Jesus Christ. And
to many 1t is proving the easy gate
way TO the downward road OF self
indulgence and pleasure, and the
very threshold of hell. The modern
DEVELOPMENT of the vacation habit Is
proving an allurement whose swift,
broad current il yearly drawing its
| thousands and hundreds of thousands
away from wholesome influences 10
the distractions of summer resort
life and merely sensual indulgences.
The place to which our Lord led
His disciples for their vacation rest
was a quiet and restful spot, where
the beat of the heart of Nature
could be felt, and where God could
bless soul as well as body. To-day,
think you, He would lead to some OF
the popular resorts and watering
places? Do you believe He would be
found with His disciples at many OF
the pleasure places and roof gardens,
and Sunday excursions and outings,
which to-day are filling the land and
the world with their distractions?
Pleasure, such as the world can give,
and plenty of IL, but not that body
and soul invigorating rest which
comes as n wholesome portion to him
who, following the bidding Of the
Master, withdraws with Him apart
into desert place. Not desert in
the sense of wilderness waste, but
desert which Is a stranger to the
whirl and allurements of the world
and where the voice Of Nature can
be heard. Where one has time to
listen to the ''heavens declare the
! glory of God" and the armament
shew forth His handiwork; where
day unto day may utter speech and
night unto night shew forth knowl-
, edge. Not where gay companionship
is essential to happiness, but where
Bryant found the inspiration for his
lines:
ITO him who in the love Of Nature holds
Communion with her visible forms, she
speaks
A various language.
Vacation Purpose.-The man OF
Jesus parable, who heedlessly built
, his house upon the sand because II
, happened to be the most convenient
spot available at the time, was not less
wickedly careless than Is he who
. thoughtlessly runs hither or thitheI
= on his vacation with no other purpose
Z than that of going somewhere or do
ing something, in quest OF recreat1or
r and change and so-called rest. The
q vacation should be definitely purpose
a full. Three elements are discernible II
a the purpose of our Lord in providing
: an outing for His weary disciples
A Primarily it was that they might OBJ
/. tain much-needed rest. But as th'
a events of that short vacation rapidly
a unfold under the quick pen OF Mark
we find that Jesus sought to lead Hi
h disciples thoughts away from tht
d things of men to the things OF God
/, TO help them to know Nature and Ma
lures God better, and to feel the pulsa
h ton and throb OF Gods almight.
n arm as It reaches out to shelter ant
a protect and feed a needy world. An
p lastly, He wanted them to learn tina
"a the most perfect rest was to be foun
4 in a new and enlarged service. An
a without these three elements, vaca
@ ton plans are lacking and fail to pre-
N vide adequately for the weary body an
n needy soul. Rest for the body, en-
A. largement for the soul and new char
a nels of service-where these three cor
% ditions can be best realized, there
n where the Lord Is calling you apart
d rest awhile.
n Rest for the Body.-It Is interestin
;! to note that the disciples were so II
n terested in the work in which the
,e had been engaged as apparently to
Is unconscious of their bodily needs III
It til Christ said unto them: "Come y
IS yourselves apart into desert place
l. and rest awhile" How blessed
N would be IL to-day Jesus disciples wer
e. so engrossed in the Masters business
e. There would not be so much self-plar
,e ming weeks and months ahead as to tn
IN summer outing, II such were the cas-
10 To-day Christian people have hardl
,e returned from ono outing and take
es up the dropped work before the
,: heads are full of plans for futul
e rest and recreation, and they q
v, ready to let go again. Keep busy
Ia the work of the Lord; don't think Z
Of much Of your weary body as you do I
IN the great need all about you. and eve
ch while you are telling the Lord abo,
of the work in which you are so much ]