The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1902-03-07


that many of them were born in camp
and were used to warlike scenes from
the start. Would God that all the
| children OF our day might be born
| into the army of the Lord!
But we all need the protecting wing
If you had known when you entered
upon manhood or womanhood what
was ahead of you, would you have
dared TO undertake life? You are not
at forty or fifty or sixty or seventy
or eighty years of age where you
thought you would be. | do not know
any one except myself to whom life
has been happy surprise. / never
expected anything, and so when any
thing came in the shape of human IA
vor or comfortable position or WIDEN
| ing field of work 1t was to me sur
prise. | was told in the theological
seminary by some of my fellow stu
dents thai never would get anybody
to hear me preach unless | changed my
style. so that when | found that some
people did come to hear me 1t was 4
happy surprise But most people, ac-
cording to their own statement, nave
found life disappointment. indeed
we all need shelter from its tempests'
The wings of my text suggest
warmth. and that is what most tolKs
want. The fact is that this is colo
world whether you take 1t literally or
fguratively. We have big fireplace
called the sun, and it has very not
fire and the stokers keep the Goals
well stirred up, but much of the year
we cannot get near enough to the hre-
place to get warmed. ne worlds eX-
tremities are cold all the time. Forget
not that it is colder at the south pole
than at the north pole, and that the
arctic is not so destructive as the amt
arctic. Once in while the arctic VIII
let explorers come back, but the ant
arctic hardly ever When at the south
pole a ship sails in, the door OF Ice
is almost sure to be shut against Its
return. So life to many millions OF
people at the south and many millions
Of people at the north is prolonged
SILVER. But wAen l say that this Is
cold world | chiefly mean fgurativeiy.
If you want to know what IS the
meaning of the ordinary term OF re-
ceiving the cold shoulder" get out
of money and try TO borrow. The con-
yersation may have been almost tropl-
cal for luxuriance of thought ana
speech, but suggest your necesslties
and see the thermometer drop to oO
degrees below zero, and in that when
till q moment before had Deen warm
room. Take what is an unpopular
position on some public question and
see YOUR friends fly as chaff before
windmill. AS far as myself is con-
cerned | have no word of complaint
but look off day by day and see COM
munities freezing out men and wo-
men of whom the world is not worthy
Now it takes after che and now aItei
another. 1t becomes popular to de-
preciate and defame and dxecrate ana
lie about some people This Is the
best world | ever got into, but it is the
meanest world that some people ever
got into. The worst thing that ever
happened to them was their cradle
and the best thing that will ever nap
pen to them will be their grave.
What people want is warmth. Inc
trouble is that in our efforts TO save
the soul there is too much GOODNESS
and icy formality. Give warmth OF
sympathy, warmth of kindly associa-
ton, warmth of genial surroundings.
The world declines to give 1t and
in many cases has no power to give IT,
and here is where Christ comes In
and as on a cold day, the rain beating
and the atmosphere full of sleet, the
hen clucks her chickens under her
wings. and the warmth of her own
breast puts warmth into the wet
feathers and the chilled feet of the
infant group of the barnyaros, SO
Christ says to those sick and frosted
and disguised and frozen OF the
world: Come in out of the. March
winds of the worlds criticism, come IN
out of the sleet of the worlds assault
come in out of world that does not
understand you and does not want TO
understand you l will comfort and
will soothe, and will be your warmth
as hen gathereth her chickens unoer
her wing" Oh, The warm heart OF
God is ready for all those to whom the
world has given the cold shoulder.
But notice that some one must take
the storm for the chickens. All, the
hen takes the storm. | have watched
her under the pelting rain. have seen
her in the pinching frosts. Almost
frozen to death or almost strangled IN
the waters, and what fight she makes
for the young under wing if a dog OF
a hawk or a man come too near! And
so the broodiug Christ takes the storm
for us. What food of anguish and
tears that did not dash upon his holy
soul? What beak of torture did not
pierce his vitals? What barking Ger
berus of hell was not let out upon him
from the kennels? Yes, the hen takes
the storm for the chickens, and Christ
takes the storm for us. The wings UNI
der which we come for spiritual safety
are blood spattered wings, are night