Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-10-23

we believe, exactly what they say?
Indeed, the promise has been kept.
Hundreds of thousands of happy men
and women testify to it today.
Weary, worn. manned, halt, and
blind, they touched the hem of His
garment. laid their burdens at His
feet, land bore song away"
CHRISTIAN Scientists have radically
changed their thought of God, they
no longer attribute to God qualities
that no man among civilized people
anywhere could acknowledge in him
self and not meet the oStraciSm he
deser Eed. We no longer indulge the
belief that God makes us sick, or lame,
or blind for some mysterious purpose
of His own. 1t is not within the
range of reasonable concept of an
infinitely just, and infinitely good God.
that He would deliberately hold in
torture, and crush in despair pure
sweet mother for the purpose of max
ing some bad man better. Being
Infinitely Just, if He were administer
ing punishment for reform. and dis
penslng rewards for virtue. He
would cruelty the bad man, and
enthrone the good woman.
We believe that God is not only the
embodiment OF good, but that He is
good; the ''Great Physician" "Who
heals all our diseases" Who gives
su1ceaSe to sorrow, Who literally wipes
all tears away; and we confidently go
to this Infinite Source of life, and
strength, and JOY for redemption from
every i'll that comes to humanity.
1t is not difficult. I am sure, TO
understand that one who believes that
God makes him sick, would hesitate
to GO to the provoking cause for
relief from the i'll be suffers If you
believe that God fills your life with
grief, for some wise purpose, believing
in His goodness, justice and power,
you should bear whatever afflictiOn
comes to you without murmur, and
should be reasonable and logical
enough not to attempt to balk the
purpose Of the infinite God by seeking
the service of some doctor, druggist,
or climate to make you we'll. If God
makes you sick, when His purpose in
doing SO is subServed, He will make
you we'll again, and your little child
rem will tell you that until His pur-
pose is SubServed no medicine of man
can make you we'll.
Our contention is that God is good,
and that if good at all is Infinitely
good for there is none other beside
Him." that if infinitely good at any
time, He is infinitely good always and
everywhere, for He is everywhere, and
without the shadow of turning. !"
Christian Scientists believe that
when Jesus went into the synagogue
on the Sabbath day, and read from
the propheSy of ESaiaS concerning
himself, propheSy written hundreds
of years before His coming, telling of
His coming. and of the office He
should hold when He came, wherein
it is written: "The Spirit Of the
| Lord is upon me, because He hath
anointed me to preach the Gospel to
the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brCken-hearted, to preach deliverance
to the captives, and recovering Of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are Bruised" and closing
the book, Jesus the Christ said to His
congregation: "This day is this
Scripture fulfilled in your ears"
Now tell me, good people, for no
one wants to be mistaken about a
matter of such vital import as this, if
Christian Science is my tn, that will
60 out with the dawn of tOmOrrOW's
sun, then Christian Scientists all
round the globe want to know that
fact, and know it tonight, if may be.
And on the other hand, if Christian
Science is the sweet story that Jesus
came to tell, then you good people, of
the old churches, / am sure, want to
know that fact, and know it tonight,
if may be. Then answer to yourselves
when you are alone with your con-
science: Is there longer any reason
for you or for me to question what the
mission of Jesus into the world was
with this prophecy concerning His
coming and the declaration of Jesus
that the prophecy was absolutely
fulfilled by His own presence in the
world, can you or hesitate longer to
believe that His great mission from
the Father was to preach the Gospel,
and to heal the sick, and almost may
we not say to preach the Gospel by
healing the sick? And if anything
were lacking in our minds to establish
this last proposition would it not be
abundantly compensated in the sweet
life of Jesus in the world; and may We
not learn from that life of works Of
sympathy, of kindness, and unfalter-
ing ministry, just what His thought
| was of the redemption He brought,
and His own way of giving it to the
world.
Have you ever thought for momont
of the tremendous import of the
fact that Jesus never preached but one
sermon in all His life, and never
! repeated that; far less than one
fiftieth part of His active life was
given to the letter of the Gospel, and
all tie balance Of it to it's spirit, to it's
practical application, to doing, not
saying, to healing the withered hands
of men, to breaking the jaws of death,
and giving the sons AND daughters OF
| men back to life and love and hope?
And so, in the example Of this minis
tering messenger of God, do we not
| find the cheering consolation that to
yours and mine, viz, that although
we may not have the tongue to tell
the sweet story that Jesus came to
tell, still, if we but extend cup OF
cold water IN His name, we will
preach the same sweet Gospel that
the loving Son of God preached, and
preach it in precisely the same way.
Learn indeed may we not, from the
works of Jesus, that you and | were
included in His declaration to one who
questioned whether he had earned the
redemption the Master came to bring,
and in the midnight of his dOub cried
out to the Saviour, "When saw / thee
hungry and gave thee to eat, naked
and clothed thee, sick and ministered
unto thee?" And by and by the
still small voice that speaks to you
and to me tonight, and has spoken to
0lr fat hers thr0l1ph all the ages gone