The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-08-21

part on filc witness 81 Cots apft y -
found just here, iu The quickeulH
ino feelings 81 friendship end -
seem 70 come 80 naturally
ourselves 90 one another H.
for brothers and sisters becamu
kindly Il the attitude t0HluIs hWefE
and mothers and children more Election
atey ~ the circle 81 loving interest widen
ingy Ibis is the mark OF the presence 3
God-ins and that otllur feeling ia.e unit
o. the ahectionate gong forth oil DE hear
IN the cry Of abba, Father" Eemovl
emotionalEm of this kind and VOC mk
the substances out OF life o. well a. ~
OF religion Life Is n mutter of feaif
All values ara realized To- feeling and y
feelingless mortal Is au unnatural
strosity. Any system Of religious th'
or practice that makes men icclu
is 20 be condemned. Phausaism was III,
ing.ess; It's lostness was set GA high LEI
fore the gaze of at the world By Us faiiurc|
70 feel the greatness of jesus IL was AL
u the light OF Tie rising sun PLAYED uponI
dead eyebaIls. A ieohnplcss lhei These
words seem contradictory. N faclinr,psg.
religonl These words are contradictory
aI4 absurd, as absurd as unseeus seeinq
or unhearng hearing.
Still further, the stay-at.hom reveals
his lost condition m his tendcns % pui
WV NNAnN NNAANNA NANIA IfNHHlNsN upon the
lie OF his brother. Thy son, which hath
devoured thy living with harlots' The
elder son had no way OF knowing this 10
be true. He judged that this must be tho
truth because it was about the worst thing
his brother could dol.
In this world Of ours we are compelled
70 make assumptions 20 choose between
views either OF which may be correct.
80 TAR as the great mass Of things b com
cerned, there is no way Of getting a0ealute
proof beforehand We must assum nd
see. Now, concerning men and things.
good assumptions and bad assumptions are
possible; but as a matter Of general atti-
tude Of mind and heart toward things only
one way Is safe. That is, to put the very
best possible construction on the lives Of
men and the working of things. This, in
word, Is Christian faith. Christian
faith does not start by proving things.
1t assumes the best. If a man is actually
bad it looks hopefully toward the better
manhood which is, in almost every case,
possibility. Jesus called Judas "frend,1
and accepted his kizs even on the utiht
OF his betrayal. Christian faith looks u
upon the working of the entire univQiise
and assumes that they are righteous. In
that trust is found peace.
Suppose one were to assume in dealing
wAh men that all men are liars. 1t cam
not be proved beforehand that all men are
not liars or even that any one man Is,
absolutely truthful. but how Ro2elessly
lost in his dealings with men would be
the one who should start with the assump-
ton that all men are liar5! The safe
path in the long run is the assumption
that there is good in all men and that the
good can be reached and made better.
In particular cases this nav fail, but n Is
in general the only Christian view. he.
who, like the elder brother, holds to the
idea that the returning prodga is hope
lessly and irretrievaby lost, is himself
wandering in the wilderness far from
safety
Lastly, the lostness of the stay-at-home
appears from his thought Of reward.
Thou never gavest me a hid" The elder
brother seems to have been serving with
the thought of material pay. lie was
doing the work for what he could get out
of it. His thought of reward moves along
a low plane. Jesus condemned Ph0risaisu
because of its low view Of reward, II
taskmaster was to pay at the close bf
day. Similarly some of US seem at
20 think of heaven as a place of ma "a j.
and rather earthly prizes. And again. The
elder brother was lost in placing emphasis
upon an extraordinary forgiveness and
welcome as of more than the favor of the
ton. It Is sometimes suggested that one
of the important lessons of this parable
is it's rebuke of the Christian whAscom-
plains because the contrition of the aru.-
ing penitent sometimes is reward by
more of ecstatic blessing than is III own
long continued service Of God However
this may be as a matter of strict exegesis, it
is perfectly clear that the thought which
rates the exceptional manifestation Of in.
terest as of more value than the continued
favor OF the fathers presence, wanders far
astray. Son, thou are ever with me, and
all that is mine is thine" This is the great
reward, the favor of companionshiD and
partnership with the Father-a spirits
benefit and blessing, beside which all
terial things fall into nothingess. The q
cipal reward is spiritual. We, are not
think of pay but of companionship wit.l
the blessed Cod Any thought of reward
lower than this is lost. There is g. sense
in which the stav-at-home was as prodigal
as his brother. With his niggardly thought
of lower reward, he recklessly overlooked
and wasted the oompanionship and love
which were poured out around him. There
were tw0prodieals in the family 1t YAOud
be rather difficult task to, decide pieh
was the, worse.