The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-06-25
Life IN Bitter Sweet.


bitter nor ali sweet. It is blend of many
fayors, an Intervening Of many strands.
II requires the cultivated taste to detect
the fine favors, il takes the educated eye
to discern the lovelier tints. Christianity
DEVELOPS this sense Of the beautiful, this
instinct for what Is admirable and noble.
Plato, that high.minded Greek, had Of old
some inkling Of this, as expressed in hie
famous formula Of "the true. the beauti-
full and the good" but it was left to Chris
tianity clearly and fully to reveal the Wis
dom and wealth of life devoted TO
"whatsoever things are true, honest, Just,
pure, lovely and of good report"
It is perfectly true that there Is the
bitter IN life, and q great deal OF It, too.
This bitter element in existence Is the
streak OF sin which has passed into the
mass of human nature. Sin is gall and
vormwood, wherever it comes. She can
never be sweetened. 1t is a subacid.. it 10
always vinegarish, always an acidu!ater.
Yet It is not well to enlarge too much
either in thought or speech on the bitter
and tart clements OF life, but to dwell more
upon the sweetening and sanctifyng
forces that are at work upon 1t. The
sweets are there if We can only extract
them, there is honey in the comb II We
can only get hold OF the comb, it is the
province OF the Gospel to tell Us how TO
get the sweets out, that is by putting the
sweets in. We obtain from the world
largely what we bring to it. II our hearts
are full OF the ennobling grace OF GOD we
find that in q spiritual sense everything
we touch turns TO gold. A positive spir,t.
ual force is needed to replace the bitter ei-
ements that now are 80 plentiful in human
speech and society. Says Professor Drum.
TS;na TSnS in ,hs hs Woris S9oi Souls are made
sweet not by taking the acid fluids out,
but BY putting something in-a great love,
a new Spirit, the Spirit OF Christ This
has been the great work Of Christianity
in the world, to sweeten souls, and 80 to
sweeten society. Tertuliian records that
anciently, among the heather, professors q
Christianity were called not Christians,
but "Chrcstiani." from "Chrest2, word .
signifying sweetness and benigmty OF ois'
position. Certainly Christian should al
ways be easily identified as such 6y ms
or her kindliness of disposition, and Iowa
bleness Of character-by thorough good M:
ture. in the deeper and most spi1tuai
sense.
There is music latent in the social sys.
tcm that spreads out around US, only IN or
der to bring that music out we must un,
derstand the art and practice OF spiritual
barmonization. George w. Cable tells OF
a Young man who went to musician and
said: Tell me how to play the sonata OF
Beethoven in that true spirit. What 40
you play now" asked the musician:
Nothing" was the reply. Ny friend,r
said the master artist, how shall ] teii
you how to play Beethoven when It Is not
your habit to play anything ut all! 70
know how to play Beethoven you must
frst know how TO play" In order TO ap'
preciate and to develop the soul OF har,
mopy that lies back OF the whir and whiri
of this rushing modern life, we must hrst
know how to play with q deft mortal
touch and q spiritual sympathy when
amounts to 4 genius for impression and e.
preston.
Every Christian is in duty bound to be
an optin!st Of a discriminating, sober type,
searchinc out the lines OF life and OF light
wherever they may be found criss-crossins
in the network of earthly existence: Ga
lileo, il we may believe a picture IN the
Cologne Museum, worked out his astro'
pomical problems by the aid OF single
raw of light that was shining into his cell.
Bunyan. !angushins for twelve years m
prison. during which time he was cut on
from the active labors OF the Gospel MIN
istry. meanwhile sang his song OF the PiI'
crim's Progress which has since been echo
ING the world over. II we cannot work TOR
in the light we can work in the dark,
and like Paul in the dungeon at Ph:hppi
sing amid the shadows.-The Kew. Shar'es
Dwight, in New York Observer