The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1902-04-18

j.
to the carpenter as his plane, to the
child as his marbles.
No time to be religious here You
have no time not to be religious. You
migst as well haye no clerks in your
store, no books in your library, no
compass on your ship, no rifle IN the
battle, no hat for your head, no coat
for your back, no shoes for your feet.
Better travel on toward eternity bare
headed and barefooted and houseles3
and homeless and friendless than to go
through life without religion.
Why, my friends religion is the best
security in every bargain; 1t Is the
sweetest note in every song; 1t Is the
brightest gem in every coronet. NO
time to be religious? Why, you Will
have to take time to be sick, to be
troubled to die. Our world Is only the
wharf from which we are to embark
for heaven. No time to secure the
friendship of Christ? No time to buy
lamp and trim it for that walk through
the darkness which otherwise Will be
illumined only by the whiteness OF the
| tombstones? No time to educate the
eye for heavenly splendors or the hand
for choral harps or the ear for ever
| lasting songs or the soul for honor,
glory and Immortality? One would
think we had time for nothing else.
| Other persons apologize for not en-
| tering the Christian life because it Is
time enough yet. That is very like
those persons who send regrets and
say, 81 will come in perhaps at II or II
o'clock; | will not be there at the open
ing of the banquet, but l will be there
at the close" Not yet! Not yeti.
Now, l do not give any doleful view
Of this life. There is nothing in my
nature, nothing in the grace OF God,
that tends toward a doleful view OF
human life. l have not much .sympa-
thy with Addison's description of the
vision of Mirza," where he represents
human life as being bridge of hun
dred arches and both ends of the
bridge covered with clouds, and the
race coming on, the most of them fall
ing down through the first span and
all of them falling down through the
last span. 1t is a very dismal picture.
| have not much sympathy with the
Spanish proverb which says, THE SKY
is good and the earth is good; that
which is bad is between the earth and
the sky" But while we as Christian
men are bound to take cheerful view
| of life, we must also confess that life
is a great uncertainty, and that man .
who says 81 can't become Christian
yet" is running a risk infinite. You do
not perhaps realize the fact that this
descending grade of sin gets sleeper
and sleeper and that you are gathering
up a rush and velocity which after
while may not answer to the brakes.
Be not among those who give their
whole life to the world and then give
their corpse to God. 1t does not seem
fair that while our pulses are in full
play of health we serve ourselves and
serve the world and then make God at
last the present of coffin. 1t does not
seem right that we run our ship from
coast to coast carrying cargoes for
ourselves and then, when the ship is
crushed in the rocks, give to God the
shivered timbers. 1t is a great thing
for a man on his dying pillow to re-
pent-better that than never at all:
but how much better, how much more
| generous it would have been if he had
repented fifty years before! My friends,
you will never get over these prOcras-
| tinatons.
We have started on march from
which there is no retreat. The shad-
ows of eternity gather on our path
way. How insignificant is time COM
pared with the vast eternity! AS l
was thinking of this one day while
coming down over the Allegheny
mountains at noon, by that wonderful
pass which you. all have heard de-
scribed as the Horseshoe-a depression
| in the side of the mountain where the
| train almost turns back again upon
| itself, and you see how appropriate Is
the name of the Horseshoe-and think
| ing on this very theme and preparing
| this very sermon, it seemed to me as If
the great courser of eternity speeding
along had just struck the mountain
with one hoof and gone on into illimit-
able space So short is time, so insig-
nificant is earth, compared with the
vast eternity! This moment voices
roll down the sky and all the worlds OF
light are ready to rejoice at your dis
enthrallment. Rush not into the pres
ence of the King ragged with sin when
you may have this robe of righteous
ness. Dash not your feet to pieces
against the throne of a crucifled Christ.
Throw not your crown of life off the
battlements. All the scribes Of God
are at this hour ready with volumes Of
living light to record the news of your
soul emancipated.