Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-01-14
IL77f 4 POPULAR
RMEN PULPIT /


of shiftlessness into care; out of self
ishness to live Gods truth and for his
fellow men.
This vision Is not so far of or so
rare as some may think. The Heaven
ly visions cluster and crowd ar, und us.
Every blush is afiame with God and
every spot is holy ground; every life
is holy land to be rescued from the
infdels God in this age, and in this
land masses and multiplles Heavenly
visions, Everyone who is brought up
In a good family has every day visions
that for his be he must not be DISC
bedient to-thc luiet, shining life of ia
Their and mother. the Christian home,
where all the atmosphere is suffused
with the beauty and fragrance of the
Gospel.
A man must be obedient to the law
of honor, integrity and commercial
worth that is taught every day in this
city and throughout the land. or sink
himself 20 the lowest disgrace. The
cleannGss, order and temperance or
Christian communities are the elevat-
ing and ennobling principles of oul
civilization and patriotism; all the les
sons of industry application and CON
duct taught in our schools; every pref
ty farmhouse nesting among the trees,
where contentment. virtue and thrift
reign; every court of justice and house
o. penal detention-all the rounds OF
atx
a vision of Heaven and incentive to
Christian living. BY all these or by
some of these a man may be lifted to
a vision of Jesus Christ, to Il better
life and n better outlook.
The majority of men are not moved
by great things, but by many things.
1t is the cumulative agent that is
drawn from a thousand sources and
grows by a thousand tributaries that
conqueTs mems minds and transforms
their lives We look too far off and
hope for too great things when it is but
little turn in the path that win bring
us into the right road
The vision is not a solitary one. We
are tempted to believe that it is the
only one we shall ever have. This is a
mistake. PauFs life was series of
Heavenly visions and repeated i'm
pulses to duty and service. We rave
repeated in this world what we be-
lieve IL. If we believe in truth and
righteousness, we seek and find these
for ourselves. Patriotism, art, sense
OF beauty grow in souls devoted to
them. Many pull down the shat IS,
draw the curtains, close the blinds and
say the world is dark.
All these visions are TO lead to one
desire and determination-to be ODE
dent to them. 1t requires a great
character to he obedient always. Any
one can disobey. Paul knew he had
met his Master. and he promised to
obey. And it was a grand thing for
him to be able to say. when he stood
before King Agrippa and thought of
his whole life from the day of that
ride to Damascus, II was not disobe-
dent" For obedience is the one solid
foundation of character and success
in the family, the school, the store, the
bank and the railway.
Civilization is based upon obedience
A boy who will not obey has no place
in the family and in the school DISC
bedience is source of Generalization
and a menace to the wellbeing of So
ciety. Every switchman or engineer
who will not obey is peril to the trav-
cling public. The man who persists In
disobeying the laws of his mind and
his body is on the way to the insane
asylum. If we the disobedient to nat
ura1 law we may escape with slight
penalty. But if we are disobedient to
conscience. to spiritual law, to Jesus
Christ and the Heavenly visions, we
are disobedient to the best and most
effective things in our lives, and the
loss and punishment must correspond.