The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-12-09
substitute a final "g." you hcvs The ten.

| SUBSTITUTE nndl =. you nEVp tnt teL'
der and gentle word "disciplihg." That is
you are being made disciple--you are
taking Christ's yoke unon you and learning
of Him as He has invited you to do. You
are entering into the fellowship Of His suf-
| ferings. But. beloved, if we suffer with
Him we shall also reign with Him-after-
| ward!"
After all. how blank and dull. and sadly
monotonous life would be without its
crises of pain. The problem Of nain- how
it has vexea us and how pain has panied
us. and yet how it has enriched us! AS
many a spice plant gives forth its most fra
| grant perfume only when bruised and
| crushed. so a human heart does its best
| for other human hearts after some soften
ing grief has visited it. Martineau said:
| "a world without contingency or an
agony could have no hero and no saint
| There il no epic of the c. 'tainties and NJ
! lyric without the surprise Of sorrow and
the sigh of fear. Whatever touches. and
ennobles us in tie lives and voices OF the
| past is a divine birth from human doubt
| ard pain" =,
The sculptors have maxim to the et-
| feet that "all that is not statue must be
| hewn away" At first our lives are like
rough and quite meaningless block Of mar
Bile. with many a too sharp angle and many
a blemish And as Michael Angelo said Of
| tne stone thrown on the rubbish heap: Il
see an angel there and I must get him
out" so God sees the best there is in you
] il He must needs use chsel and ma let:
And now the blows are struck. the chlsel
cuts deep. the chips hy "The more the
| marble wastes the more the statue grows:
| Thus continues the divine sculptor HIS
| work and labor Of love- until there stands
| forth. afterward, & glorious soul ct lnajes-
tic dimensions and Christlike beauty.
"'Tis the Master who holds the ehise!,
and day by day
He is climbing whatever cnvirons the Drm
away. :,
That under His skilful cutting the form
may he
Wrought silently out into beauty, OF such
degree
OF fauitiess and full perfection, that angel
Shall gaze on the finished product with
new sDrDrise, -,
That even His matchless patience could
grave His own
Features upon such fractured and stubborn
stone"
There is. unfortunately. another side to
| this pronosition. For the wicked as well
| as for the righteous there ia an latter.
| ward" Over that melancholy. scene l.
would gladly draw the curtain OF complete
| silence would fain hold my peace and
sneak rot at all of, the wretehet sequei
which in the very nature of things: must
be theirs who hurl defiance at Gods be-
nevolent laws for the souls of men.
,Jrst as the tears of the riqht"one now
shall afterward be transmitted into eternal
GEMS. sparkling forever in the lRht OF
| heaven. 30 the very gems OF the wicked.
the tawdry tinsel and trinkets and toys
| that now seem so bright ana atLTac.He,
will be found. afterward. to be but 1ne
| perishahle accessories OF mad nlgntnare
of revelry and rioting. The empty, idle
fallacies with which they .sported here,
killing time and killing sonls. shall alter
ward become whips that lash them forever,
scorpions whose sting is eternal: tears that
are never wiped awav. hut which unceas-
| inrly scald and scarify the soul like biting
ccids eating the heart forever.
For the devils dune the inevitable order
is lust that-now a little temporary peas
| IRE. lust enough to bait the soul surcess-
| fullv: and afterward, deso.ation and an
cuish indescrihab!e.
| So, to sum it all up-what kind o. an at
| terward are you going to have! That de-
nends on what kind of 4 present you are
having. Wonld You not prefer to sutfeII
| Affections with Gods neonle and atterward
| have glory unspeakable than to ENJOY the
| pleasures Of sin for season, and alterr
ward snffer the inevitable aftermath OF
| DESPAIR? Say "ves" TO that proposition.
and I will say Amen"