The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-10-30
A Life OF Faith.

Faith is so urgently spoken Of as an IN
dlspensable condition of success. its impor-
tance Is dwelt upon at such length that in
obedience TO curious law of human ma
ture we begin to exalt and mystify it, inn
aglning it some strange new, peculiar DOW
er, only granted to the few and quite i'm
possible of acquisition by such ordinary.
everyday Christians as we are. This il all
wrong. Faith is one of the commonest
things in the world. 1t lies at the bottom
OF all business transactions. 1t is the ba-
sis for all marriages and partnerships Of
any sort on earth.
Faith is nothing more than this. ] have
Gods word for it that He will do certain
things for me If ! comply with His condi-
tions. 1t IS merely His promise to pay on
demand. Every prayer ! utter is only a
sight draft on the bank of heaven. Faith
Is simply belief in the ability and relia-
bility of God.
1t Is impossible for any one who has even
so much as opened the Bible to be unaware
that this word faith plays a most promin-
ent part in its pages. 1t is affirmed that
faith wor ks miracles, removes mountains,
restores the sick and saves and sanctifies
the sinner. Every apostle whose words re-
main to us dwells upon the prime impor-
tance OF faith and its possession by the in-
dividual.
Abraham's life is the most illustrious ex-
ample of life of faith that has come down
in the great and exceptional occurrences Of
life that he showed his faith. not only.
such as his obedience to Gods call to come
out from his kindred in Ur and go into
Canaan, or his patient waiting for an heir
in answer to Gods promise, or his sublime
readiness to sacrifice the only hope the
world held for him at that command of
God. Not many men are called to leave
home and friends at the call of their faith
not many to sacrifice the only child, the
son and heir. But in the little everyday.
ordinary occurrences of life, where most
men would fail, we find Abraham's faith
large enough to carry him through.
The striking part of this instance in our
Scripture selection of Abraham's obedience
is that he abandoned his country, his
friends and his kindred in the hope of
better country. This is what God would
have us do. abandon the world and all its
pleasures. in the hope of better country,
an eternal city.
Faith makes things that are only dim
hope in the future real. 1t was possible
for Abraham to give up his home in the
land OF Ur, because his faith in God made
a new home in Canaan as real as if he
could look over the hills and valleys and
see il.
In calling forth the substance of things
hoped for" the writer of the letter to the
Hebrews did not mean that it was proof
in the way that word is used in court Of
law, for it is not. He did not mean that
it appealed to mans reason and gave
him cause to decide for it because the
weight of testimony lay that way, for of
all things in the world faith is the most
Unreasonable" Faith is not an act OF a
work of reason. but of the will Faith is
doing first and pausing to think afterward;
obeying and then seeking to understand.
Faith is not an idea-it is a course of ac-
tion; and the reason that it is called
evidence is that, if pursued, it brings
its own conviction. He that willeth to do
His will shall know of the doctrine" No
man ever yet came into the kingdom of
God who understood all about Jesus, but
he believed as a little child believes, and.
believing. it becomes plain to him.
The climax of our Scripture selection is
tremendous. Without faith it is impossi-
bic to please Him." How many Of us
really have faith?-New York Mail and
Express.