Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-04-17

through which its variegated colors
can be reelected. We shall be amazed
at our ears attuned TO heavenly min
strelsy. and yet not hearing one dis
cord. Everywhere I'm heaven our eyes
and ears AMI our sensibIlities VIII be
startled and stimulated. but never
stunned, with amaZement upon amaze
ment.
Then, above all, like the disciples of
old. after our resurrection we shall be
amazed at the infinity OF Christ's sacri-
dcc. y mother was one day talking To
her little child and asked her. "Daueh-
ter, are you not often amazed at the
fact that Jesus died for your" "Why.
no. mother" she answered. "You
would be willing TO die for me. and
why should not my Saviour? 1t is Just
like Christ" But neither that little
child nor any one else this side Of the
grave has ever had grace enough to
fathom or scale or comprehend the inn
mensities of Saviour's sacrifice. II
shall be only after we ourselves have
been Joined to the heavenly choristers
that we shall fully realize what the
Savfour's atonement means for us. Our
redeemed future. az with the disciples
of old, will have Amusement upon
amazement. amazement upon amaze
mentl
What Mary Believed.
The risen Lord appeared unto Mary
with the same personality that he had
| before the crucifiXion. How do know :?
Mary thought he was the gardener. BY
that 90 not believe Christs garments
were despatched with mud or that his
| fingers We're soiled from contact with
the flower stems. but l do believe that
the risen Lord stood by the side OF Ma
~ as he had often done before the aw-
| full crucifiXion. / do believe that the
risen Christ had the same voice, the
same look, the same touch Of the hand
and the same heart sympathy for earth
ly troubles that he had when he him
self was compelled TO go hungry and
knew not where to lay his head.
1t is easy, even on Easter day, to
have distorted idea of the risen Lord
] well remember when little boy how
l used TO study the hideous idols which
my uncle. John Talmage. the mission
airy, sent us from faroff China. |
image of stone or wood TO my room
Then l would say to myself: How
could any man worship such n thing
| as that as a god? How could any
worshiper suppose that his god could
have two stumpy, withered legs, buried
tailor fashion under a bloated abdo-
men; two hateful eyes, squirting with
strabismus, and mouth horrible with
the demoniac grin of a destroying mon
sterT' But the heather bowling before
such n shrine is perhaps not more i'm
error than some Christians are I'm ref
erence TO their risen Lord. They sup
pose the resurrected Christ is uncanny
in looks and actions. After having suf
fered for our redemption they believe
he is no longer n human being. that he
lives billions and billions of miles
away from earth and has no part i'm
our everyday life. All. no. The Jesus
who sympathized with Mary's tears
when she came to seek his body mt the
tomb is the same Christ who sympa-
thized with her troubles before the
crucifixion.
Thus the Christ who talked 10 Mary
teal gospel for n practical everyday
life. The boy Jesus who was in the
carpenter shop is the resurrected Christ
who is today ready to bend over the
shop bench and help the mechanic I'm
his toll. The fatherless Christ who
once saw Mary, the mother, struggling
for her daily bread-for Joseph is sup
posed TO have died when the divine
child was very young-is the sympa-
thizing Saviour who today is ready 10
help the widow and care for the or
phans. We preach not an Easter Jc.
sus in the elegant robes OF king so
much as in the plain garb of n work
ingman going forth TO help those who
are in the awful struggle for phys
lcal existence.
Tho risen Lord onnearad erst unto
Mary because her great love would NOT
allow her TO desert the riied tomb.
Reading carefully st. Johns account OF
the resurrection, you will fnd that Mo-
ry made two visits TO the garden where
Christs body was laid. First she went
as woman. Even 10 this day the wo-
men OF the east on the first day of the
week are accustomed 10 do Just the
same as they did I'm Christ's time. For
SIX long weeks at early dawn the wom-
en- go To the new made graves to weep
there. With my own eyes l have seen
them going and heard them with NV
ears. Just as the sun Is peepinc over
the Judsean hills they come forth ROBBED
IN white, with faces covered with long
wells, wailing and sobbing as they 60.
But no sooner did Mary reach the tomb
and find 1t desecrated than she ran and
told the disciples Peter and John.
what then happened? Why, Peter and
John came 10 the tomb and verified the
statement with their own eyes. Then
they turned and went home. but Mary.
the loving Mary, would not leave. She
fingered, asking every one she met
practically the one question, where
have We laid him :" She asked il of the
two angels; she asked 1t of the sup
posed gardener; then. as she still con-
unued TO Hnger about the tomb. Jesus
revealed himself unto her.
What does the second Journey of
Mary TO the rifled tomb OF Jesus
teach? Simply this: If we only go I'm
spirit TO the Easter tomb of Christ. |
seeking him and staying there, as Mary |
stayed, Christ will reveal himself unto
US. He will reveal himself as he did |
to the noted Christian reformer OF old |
whose daily and hourly prayer was |
this simple sentence: More light, Lord. |
more light, more light" He will re-
veal himself as he did to Thomas j
chalmers, who. after preaching for /
many years in his Filmeny pulpit, sud-
denly had new revelation OF the lifo
or Jesus, from which he was able to /
preach his mighty sermon on "The Ex-
puisive Power of New Affection"
He shall reveal himself as he did to
Charles III. Spurgeon. Not until the |
youthful Spurgeon caught glimpse
u Christ crucitied was he able to grasp
he right key, which opened TO him the
ioors OF the treasury OF the gospel. He
VIII reveal himself as he did again and
again to your Christian mother. Never
III sorrow come TO her hearthstone
n CHI 100. n -