Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1902-08-23

Christ your true and feryent love, be-
cause l believe that. as Christians, we
should look upon the church as a col
lection Of Gods children. Therefore
we should accept and love its men,
bers as our spiritual brothers and Sis
tiers, children of God, and we our
selves should long to be Of the spirit
ual household.
An old Boston merchant loved n
young man from Kentucky, who was
the friend Of his dead boy. This old
Boston merchants only son had enlist
ed for the civil war. Down at the
front In 1864 he was shot. Wounded
unto d"~'h. he was carried into the
home southern lady and nursed
there unil he died. But just before
his death he looked up into the sweet
face of the southern lady and said: Il
am the only son of rich Boston mer-
chant. My father will be heartbroken
when he hears of my death. After the
war Is over, and as your money Is all
swept away. | want your son to go to
Boston and see my father. | want him
to tell my father that you have nursed
me for weeks and months. Then my
father will love your son for my sake" "
And the dying boy with trembling fin
gers wrote upon Il slip of paper: Dear
Father-I am dying. This young man
Is the son of the dear lady who has
taken your place and mothers. Take
her son to your heart for my sake"
Time passed on, and the awful carnage
came to an end. The home Of the
southern lady was swept away. One
day the young man, armed with the
dead sons letter. started for Boston.
| When he was ushered into the office Of
the old merchant. at first the latter
would not even speak to him. The old
merchant kept on at his desk writing.
| But when the young man placed the
message of the dead 10y upon the mer-
chants desk the broken hearted father
arose and put his arms about the young
mans neck and sobbed. 81 will love
you for my boys sake-yes, for my
dead boys sake" Now, | do not be-
lieve 1t Is possible for us to love Christ
unless we also love his church for his
sake. ! do not believe 1t Is possible
for us to love the church unless for
Christ's sake we also love Christ's
children, who are members Of that
church, nor do believe 1t possible for
Christian man to be as good a Chris
tian outside Of the church of Christ as
If he were true hearty. active, con-
scientious member of that church.
Mark you well my statement. | did
not affirm that there were no Christian
Christ, but did affirm that man can
not be as good Christian outside of
the Christian church as inside. There
may be good Christians found outside
of the church. There may be good
Christians who prefer the society Of
Sabbath desecraters and worldly
pleasure seekers instead Of the society
of Gods children. who love to gather
In the house of praise; but | frankly
confess have never found good Chris
tians who prefer to seek the society Of
worldly pleasure seekers to the society
of those who delight I'm Gods house.
Jack roses may grow In cesspoOls. but
as rule the most beautiful roses
blush deeper red and swing sweet
er incense in IL flower garden than
among the thOrns Of wild hedge.
One Honest Reply.
"Well." answers another nan. Il will
tell you frankly why dcspise the
church of Cod. The reason | 60 not
Join the church is because it is too
straitlaced for me- and | am not will
Ing to give up my own way of living"
My brother. | believe you have told
me the exact truth. believe ninety
nine-hundredths Of those who scott at
the church scoh principally because
they are not ready to surrender some
secret sin. But as you have given me
one honest answer | want you to give
me another to question just as i'm
pOrtant. If you are not ready TO sur
render your secret sin and join the
church. where is that sin going to send
you? Some time ago | stood in the
depot of our national capital watching
a little colored boy about five years
old asleep upon one of the benches.
This little baby had Il card pinned to
his coat which read like this: Con
ductor, will you please see that this
little boy is put in the right train and
tr-ln mi H-
will meet himw
AS stood there watching that little
child | said to myself; Some people |
seem to be sleeping in the great depot |
of sin as unconscious Of their sur
soundings as that colOred baby. They |
care not what Is going to happen to
them And Satan has pinned a tag |
upon them to send them through, like |
baggage, to the great city Of eternal
despair"
My unrepentant brother, as you are |
unwilling to join the church because
you are reluctant to give up your Sc
cret sin. ask you where will that Sc
cret sin ultimately send you? You
need to be aroused from your spiritual
lethargy and to realize your awful dan
ger. l would especially plead with you
to surrender your sins and dedicate
your life to Jesus Christ by joining
the church because. IN your heart, you
know well what " ought to do l
have always shrunk from the thought
that people who were born in sin and
ignorantly reared in sin and who ig-
norantly died in sin and unrepentant
were totally lost. 1t has always been
q question in my mind whether some
of those poor, loathsome creatures who
were reared In the slums Of a great
city and who never heard the name of
Jesus except in blasphemy might not
In Gods mercy be made as fit for the
city as some who, having
been born In Christian homes, have led
q very different Christian life. God
will never condemn one who is born
blind because he cannot see He will
never destroy one who is born deaf