The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-02-11


shall md H."
II we ask. why. we may get a glimpse
at the answer I'm the thought that by ma
ture we are OF God. eternal. universal.
related to the Infinite will The more we
surrender 10 that will and allow II to
rule US the more that part OF us which
is divine enlarges and we become
stronger by partaking more and more
Of strength which is not our own but
which wells UP through us. just as grav-
itation may be made to work through
wheel TO the service OF man. so the
universal will may work through "A soul
I'm time herewith to the service OF hu-
manty.
NO FIGURE OF SPEECH.
1t is no figure Of speech. then. that
Jesus employs when he says that such
a man has I'm him well OF water spring
ing up into eternal life. He has linked
himself with the eternal life and as the
sprouting grain shoots up through the
soil. SO life breaks up and through the
oft-times stony hardness Of our souls.
Such a man is strong and has resource
In himself simply because he has Joined
himself with strength. God Is I'm him
TO will and to do OF his good pleasure.
AS the car gets momentum and has
power through Its being adjusted TO the
electric fluid, as men paint masterpieces
by allowing nature to shine through them
onto the canvas, as men write immortal
poems and work out eternal thoughts as
they surrender themselves 10 the eternal
mind. so man In action does the most and
the best as he surrenders to the eternal
strength and allows God to will and to
do in him Of his good pleasure. my
meat" says Jesus, lis to do the viii Of
Him that sent me-"
SEEKING THE SAME END.
We have therefore two distinct classes
OF persons seeking the same end yet pur-
suing exactly opposite methods 1t only
remains to see what contrast there Is.
II any, in the goals they reach.
''By their fruits We shall know them"
is true In a very literal sense. We know
the artist by his finished product. Until
the last touch has been given the can
vas we are not sure as to the class in
which We shall place him. Certain ways
Of living are to be tested when the fruit
begins to rfpen. Certain habits Of life
seem attractive until the returns begin
to come in. There is much truth In the
adage that all's well that ends well.
There is truth. too. In this that an's i'll
that ends Ill. We are to seek the results
in life OF these two opposite methods.
Those who follow one method will be
classed under one head. those who follow
another will be placed under another
head
Some people will thus find themselves
in strange company. The light, frivolous.
don't care, pleasure seeking. never get
ting below the surface. always seeking
their own qualification people will ind
themselves. however innocent they may
be. will find themselves classed with
those whose names have become synony-
nous with shame and crime.
DIFFERENCE OF DECREE.
TIE difference is simply one Of degree.
The method is the same. Both are fol-
lowing the law OF their lower beings
rather than the commands Of their spir-
itual and higher natures.
The mother who let's her child do this
because II wants to and who allows II to
refrain from doing that because Of the
II don't want to-" Is training 1t for the
society that is made up OF the worst ele-
ments in the community. The fact that
many children, so trained. escape the
doom toward which they are headed.
speaks well for human nature.
An understanding Of this point will
help us TO appreciate why out OF the
slum comes oft-times the strongest char
acters and out OF the best homes chill
dren beautifully trained end their lives
I'm disgrace.
In looking at the results OF the lives
OF those who seek qualification alone in
the things that appeal to the senses OF
men rather than to their inner lives we
are struck with the fact that these peo-
pie never find what they seek. 1t is all
expressed In the words Of Jesus when
He says, Those who drink Of such water
thirst again" The effort to satisfy the
lower appetites and desires of life de-
feats itself.
CREATES AN APPETITE.
This kind OF food creates an appetite.
We can understand this best by taking
an extreme type The experience related
by De Quincy In his Confessions OF an
Opium Eater Is typical Of the effort to
crafty any natural desire at the ex-
pense Of reason. The pampered taste
turns and rends the being that gave It
birth. That which satisfied In the begin
ming ceases after a time to bring pleas
ure or qualification. The world is filed
with people today who are In a continual
state OF ennul. they are blase. Discon-
tent Is written on every feature. They
have lost interest I'm everything.
The method they have pursued in life,
however moral they may be, Is identi-
cally the method pursued In more ex-
treme form by the opium fend and the
drunkard. IL has been the effort to Sc
cure momentary pleasure and exubera-
tion at the expense of the higher life
Such lives are no more satisfactory to
their friends than they are to themselves
Every one who comes in contact with
such life is conscious that they are
interested i'm no one except I'm so far as
that one can serve their pleasure and
furnish them amusement. They come TO
YOU YOU go to music or art or litera-
ture. You feel AS an opera would feel
IL 1t could feel. after II had been given
before a musical audience. You are
weaker pumped out Il were. and I'm
state of collapse. II by their fruits We
shall know them, then l know of nothing
worse than that method OF self-centered
existence that leaves a man at forty dis
gusted with life, tired of existence. with |
every resource Of life exhausted, with
the mind empty and the head sick and
WIN all the simple sources of JOY and
delight closed To him.
We think of old age passed In poverty |
and want as ono OF the sad things Of |
life. Yet there are charities and friends |
20 supply ife's necessities.