The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1903-11-27

g. 80 nation. There has
been a tendency,
since the day became fixed as ma
tional holiday, and was regularly des-
kgnated each year as such, to subOrd1-
nate the true spirit and purpose of the
day To the sports and festivities which
haze crowded into it's observance. 1t
b the day Of the great football con-
tests, 1T is the day of feasting, and par
ties and merry making and pleasure
seeking. but it Is no longer the day which
,alls the churches with their deVout con-
greSations whose hearts rise to GOD
In thankful recognition of His goodness
and mercies. In old New England. where
the day as observed in this country had
its origin, Harriet Beecher Stowe tells
rs that, great as the preparations were
for the dinner and the festivities or the
day, everything was so contrlVed that
not soul in the house should be Kept
from the morning service of Thanksg1v-
ing In the church" But to-day 1t Is not
90. Church attendance is the excep-
ton rather than the rule. In most places
the union service of half dozen diner
ent churches has hard work mastering
respectable audience. Instead OF every
church being filed with it's thank-offer-
ing, praise-giving people. the large ma
FORTY of them stand mute and empty,
while the families which should be
there are busy with the pleasures and
festivities of the day. This Is dishonor-
ing to God, a violation of the purpose OF
Che day, and disrespectful Indifference
60 the request of the president, that the
people. OF the land shall gather in their
respective houses of worship and there
render unto God thanksgiving for the
blessings which He has bestowed during
the past year.
T HUS Is lost to the individual and,
through the individual, to the ma
lion the real power and blessing of
Thanksgiving day. Our text reminds us
that God is the giver of all good. Tie
tremendous crops of grains and fruits
and vegetables of which this nation
boasts and OF which abundance thou
sands OF tons of food stuffs are sent to
feed other nations, all come from God.
The coal and iron and gold which man
takes out OF the bowels of the eartf.
and by which he is warmed and his in
dustries created and run were first
hidden in the ground by God. The fish
Of the rivers and lakes and seas, the
fowls OF the air, the cattle and she ~
and horses on the thousand hills and
The plains arc the gift of God for the
blessing Of man. The very life which
throbs in mans veins and makes him
different from the rocks which lie cold
and rnotiunless at his feet comes from.
God. The sunshine and the rain are
sent by God. All, all comes from God
for every good and perfect gift is
from above and coneth down from the
Father of Lights" And because this
Is true We call our Heavenly Father the
Bountiful God, and at THANKSGIVING
time His bountifulness should receive
special recognition. Devout and hum
BILE Thanksgiving should rise from,
every heart to God Who gives all good
and perfect gifts. Our THANKSGIVING
message is of the Bountiful Gcd. and
We want to take away the indefinite
and meaningless thought of God and
.engraft in its place q deep conscious
mess OF the personal relations of God
the Creator and Giver to man the crea-
ture and the recipient The farmer
needs to lift mis- gaze above the tassel-
ing corn tops and the crowded barns
and granaries; the man in commercial
hfe must look above the gold which
5ingies over his counter as he buys and
sells; the clerk at his desk or behind
the counter and the workman at his
bench should see beyond and above the
task and the pay envelope which the
employer passes out; the professors
books should lift higher than the hu-
man: the scientists telescope should
reach beyond the stars. There should
be consciousness OF God in the heart
Of all-that He is the Bountiful God
the Giver of all good. This is not
merely sentiment; it is a definite con-
eeptton of God based upon fact
= Cd as the Giver of all good must
~ be the source of all good Con-
slider this proposition carefully. II
suggests God as the proprietor of the
vast supply house of the universe AS
Creator, God has filled this supply
house with every good and perfect gift
for man- AS Ruler of the universe
He has maintained the supply through.
mot the ages of mans existence upor
earth And as Giver He has bestowed
Aese inexhaustible gifts upon man
Het US consider first, then, God a.
Creator. Evolution cannot eliminate
God as the primary factor from Hi.
universe The theory of evolution may
explain the orderly methods by which
Hod'a infinite power has called inte
heing every created thing. but 1t doe.
NOT explain God away. neither docs 1
a1sprove the story OF creation as re
corded In the inspired Word Of God