The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-10

AaHe lka hair Is gray. My nerves are not steady. have postponed coming to Christ until I have passed my two score and ten. 1t needs a young person to work for Christ among the young" No, my aged, gray haired friend; you are wrong. There is only one person more fitted to work among the young than Christian young man or young woman That person Is Christian gray haired man or woman who is still blessed with a young heart. Though I may live to be sixty. seventy or eighty years of age, never expect to live long enough to outgrow my rights to be an active member of a Young People's Christian association. As a pastor 1 all ways expect to be in such close touch with the young folks of my church that I can sing such a song as did the sweet poet of old:
 And when. with envy, time transported Shall think to rob us of our joys,
 You'll in your girls again be courted,
 And I'll go wooing with my boys.
 Yes; the young people always ought to be "our boys and ''our girls" in Christ Aged Christian friend, great opportuni- ties of gospel usefulness are open to you among the young folks if you will only go to them in the spirit of loving eonse- cration. They are open 1T you will only go to the young folks in a plain, practi- tdl Way III lllt oA St6dS 2BIlol.
 Missionary Work.
 Another glorious field of Christian use- fitness Is to be found in missionary work. What do I mean by that? Christian labor among the cannibals of the south seas? Among the fur rohed Esklmos, in their igloos, of the icy north? Among the tat. tooed Maoris of New Zealand and the half civilized natives of the orient? Oh, yes. They are all included in that term "mis- sonary work" The divine command "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. l baptizing them in the name of the Fa- ther and the Son and the Holy Ghost" has worldwide significance. One of the first duties of a Christian is to work for the foreign missionary society of his church. By money donations by needle work and by pledges you should re-en- force our Christian missionaries laboring in foreign fields. You cannot have a worlds Saviour unless you feel that the black man of Borneo and the yellow man of China and the Bengai of India are your brothers-brothers in Christ.
 But in reference to missionary work I had in mind also another interpretation. l mean Christian labor among those who are living in your back alleys. Christian labor among the poor and the social out casts. Christian labor, as a lady some time ago expressed it to me in a beautiful letter. She wrote asking me if I knew of any crippled child who had no friends. She wanted to adopt that child. She well knew that the ablebodied children might ultimately be able to take care of them- selves. but the crippled child never. Therefore she wanted to adopt a crippled child and care for the boy while she lived and leave money enough in her will to care for the child after she was dead. An, that is the true missionary spirit To care for the cripples and. the helpless-the moral and physical crippies. You can find them in the slums. You can hear them knocking at your door, You can see them pushing past you in the twilight
 How can the Christian work in the sums By giving at least one evening of each week, if possible, to work in one of the city's rescue missions. You have good voice. Go to those meetings and sing. They need you. Tou know or should know how to pray. Go there and lead in prayer. If you can do no more you can at least give out a hymn book and smile welcome. Go there and do that How can you do missionary work in the back alley? Go ana visit the poor homes that are only a stones throw from your door. You will find there peo- pie who are silently yet nobly struggling for life Ii was well said by great Christian leader. "rhe deserving poor are those whom you have to seek and not those who seek you" Go in Christ's name and hunt the deserving poor-the halt the lame, the blind There is something wrong about that Christian who when Thanksgiving day rolls around does not know at least one family 10 which he can in Chrst's name send a dinner. There Is something wrong about that Christian who has never yet been able to hold cottage prayer meeting in a poor mans house.
 The Relief of Suffering.
 Another glorious field for Christian ac- tlyity is found in hospital work. It is found where Christ spent most of his earthly ministry-namely. among the sick It is found in going through the wards filled with white cots and leaving here a flower and there a word of encourage ment and wonder a prayer. It Is found Tn the children's wards, where many httle ones are cursed with futile struggle for physical existence. cursed from the mos ment that they were born. It is found Tn the old peoples homes, where the aged and the physically inhrm. sometimes pet ulantly. sometimes lovingly and longingly are waiting for the last summons to join the silent majority beyond Tt is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting" Yes, but l believe it Is better to go to the bedside of the sick than to stand by the casket Of the dead By the white couch Of physical pain the opportunities for do'ng good are even greater than by the white shrouds of the departed.
 But, though the hospitals are filled to overfowing, how few of HIS ever think of going there to carry Ghrists message of good cheer When we think of genuine Christian work we are apt to look for that work far beyond the seas We do not appreciate the opportunities that are at our very doors. We are like the hun- dreds and thousands of Philadelphians who at home never appreciate the value of Independence hall on Chestnut street. Some of them had to travel a thousand miles to see old Liberty bell after it had been dragged from their own depot to the Worlds fair at Chicago. Oh Christian men and women never let month of your