The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-04-17
never examined the evidences

never examined the evidences Of
Christianity.
Thomas Chalmers, once skeptic,
ROBERT Hall once skeptic, Christmas
Evans once.a skeptic; but when they
ola lay hold Of the gospel chariot how
tney made 1t speed ahead! II, there
lore, ! address men and women who
have drifted away into skepticism,
throw out no scott; rather implead
you by the memory Of those good old
umes when you knelt at your
mother's knee and said your evening
prayer, and those other days Of sick
ness When she watched all night and
gave you the medicines at just the
rlgnt time and turned the pillow when
II was hot, and with hand long ago
turned to dust soothed your pains and
win that voice you will never hear
AGAIN unless you join her in the bet
Ter country, told you never mind, you
would be better by and. by, and by
thae dying couch where she talked so
slowly, catching her breath between
the Words-by all those memories I
ask you to come and take the same re-
igion. 1t was good enough for her;
1t is good enough for you.
Aye. l make a better plea. By the
wounds and the death throe Of the Son
OF God, who approaches you IN infinite
love with torn brow and lacerated
hands and whipped back, crying,
Come unto me. all We that labor and
are heavy laden, and will give you
rest!"
Other persons apologize for not en-
tering the Christian life because Of
the 1ncorrigibility of their tempera-
ment Now, we admit it is harder for
some people to become Christians
than for others, but the grace of God
never came to a mountain that it
could not climb or to an abyss that 1t
could not fathom or to bondage that
IL could not break. And the widest
the haughtiest, the most ungovernable
man ever created by the grace of God
may be subdued and sent out on min
lstry of kindness, as God sends an
August thunderstorm to water the
wild flowers down in the grass.
Rlch harvests of grace may grow on
the summit of the jagged steep, and
locks of Christian graces may find
pasturage in fields Of bramble and
rock. Though your disposition may
be all a-bristle with fretfulness, though
you have temper a-gleam with
quick lightnings, though your avarice
be like that of the horse leech, crying,
Glve!" though damnable impurities
have wrapped you in all consuming
fire, God can drive that devil out of
your soul, and over the chaos and
the darkness he can say LET there be
light"
Converting grace has lifted the
drunkard from the ditch and snatched
the knife from the hand of the assas-
sin and the false keys from the burg
lar, and in the pestiferous lanes of
the city met the daughter of sin I'M
der the dim lamplight and scattered
her sorrow and her guilt with the
words, "Thy sins are forgiven: go
and sin no more" For scarlet sin q
scarlet atonement.
Other persons apologize for not en-
terlng the Christian life because Of the
inconsistencies of those who profess
religion. Now, say it is illogical. Poor
lawyers are nothing against jurispru-
dence; poor physicians are nothing
against medicine; poor farmers are
nothing against agriculture, and mean,
contemplate professors of religion are
nothing against our glorious Chris
tianity.
Sometimes you have been riding
along on summer night by swamp
and you have seen lights that kindled
over decayed vegetation-lights which
are called jack-o'-lantern or will-o'-
the-wisp. These lights are merely poi
sonous miasmata. My friends, on your
way to heaven you will want a better
light than the will-o' -the-wisps which
dance on the rotten character Of mort
bund Christians. Exudations from
poisonous trees in our neighbours gar
den will make a very poor balm for
our wounds.
Sickness will come, and we will be
pushed out toward the Red sea which
divides this world from the next, and
not the Inconsistency Of Christians, but
the rod of faith, will wave back the
waters as commander wheels his
host. The judgment will come, with
It's thunder shod solemnities. oh, then
we will not stop and say, There was a
mean Christian; there was cowardly
Christian; there was an impure Chris
tian." In that day as now, If thou be
wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself,
but If thou soonest thou alone shall
bear it."
Why, my brother. the inconsistency
Of Christians. so far from being an
argument to keep you away from God,
ought to be an argument to drive you
to Him. The best place for skillful
doctor is in neighborhood where
there are all poor doctors, the best
place for an enterprisng merchant to
open his store is in place where the