Milford chronicle., 1903-02-06
,gay iniul, their own social and spiT
lulal standing.

way iniure their own social and srlF
lual standing.
The Two Sons.
The elt..r brother never longs 70 sat'
,sfv the divine cravings Of his fathers
love. haze no sympathy with some
of the excuses that are made for Jha'
prodigal son. 1 have no sympathy VIII
those who declare that young men are
led astray into the far country OF sH
because they have generous impulses
and abnormal affections and therefore
cannot say no to the temptcr. That
prodigal was an migrate. every way yon
take him. lie was a selfish. contemptE
bic. dissolute rake. No man is large
hearted who viii take a friend to
saloon or open a bottle of wine at a
club when in order to do it he makes
his own children 80 hungry and dress
in rags. No generous hearted young
man will 20 into the far country Of sin
and rechlessly squander his none!
when at the same time he knows that
bis old father is weeping at home, with
his ewes fountain Of tears: but. though
that Younger son was a selfish, despi
cable character, the elder was just as
despicable. When the elder brother
heard the music which signaled the
parental joy over the repentant prod
igars return; when he saw the eyes OF
his father glistening with love and his
checks flushing with a holy thankful
ness. he would have rejoiced for his
fathers seke if he had not been selfish
and would not have tried to stab the
old man to the heart. Did he not sGy
In effect: Yes. we shall drive that dis
solute debauchee back to his swine
trough. Then we can have the pleas
ure Of seeing father again restlessly
pacing the floor through the long,
weary hours of the night" Did he not
want to hear that dear, old, gentle, for
giving father again moan over his way
ward boy as David mourned over his
dead son Absa lom?
1t that elder brother had been the
right kind of q son. he would have seen
what JOY came into the fathers heart
at the return of his repentant son. He
would have Immediately said: "What
4 difference does money make if / can
only make father happy? Away with
/ the question of dollars and cents if my
/ brothers return is only a true return
/ SO every Christian today. if he is the
right kind Of a Christian, does not
/ think about the social condition of his
repentant fellow man. He Immediately
says, when the publican bows at the
mercy seat "Oh, the joy and the rap
ture of heaven. Oh, the look of tri
umphant love which is upon my Divine
Fathers face. Oh, the celestial music
which in great tidal waves of sound /!
rolling through the golden boulevard'
Of the New Jerusalem. Oh, the an
gelic voices in heaven which are every
were shouting the glad tidings: Th'
prodigal has returned! The prodiga
has returned to his Fathers house!
The Lack of Faith.
The elder brothers conduct ais
shows a lack of faith in his father. H'
refuses to believe that his Divine Fa
theirs love is powerful enough t.
change a sinner into a saint. Infdelit.
often intrenches itself in the pew ant
behind the church pulpit. Some churcl
members, and some ministers of tn
gospel. are only theorizing when the,
profess to believe that Jesus Christ ca
pardon sin. They profess to believ
that Christ can transform the sevel
deviled Marys into the Marys who ar
willing to sit at his feet and worship
but these skeptical elder brothers g
forth into the great. wide, sinful worl
and by their practical behavior seattle
their ideal spiritual theories to the fou