The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-03-02
Losing and. Finding Life.

Before we cah understand Christ's
meaning in bis apparent paradox, we
must find out what he meant by the
word, life. WHAT'S it that we seek
and losing, find? The word life, even
in humanity, is manifold in its mean
ing. We say that q man has lost his
| life, when he is run over in the street
and his body is crushed under the
wheels Of wagon. That is the physi-
cal life which sooner or later we must
lose. There is. intellectual life that
may be lost. But it is the loss of spirit
ual life that is most disastrous. A man
who gives his life to business, or to
politics, or to pleasure. and gives no
thought to God and has no desire to
receive from him the blessings he is
ready to impart,; Is fiinging his life
away. Thus there are many senses IN
which life may. be lost -.
But Christ sets new principle be-
fore us. There is. sense in which he
that loseth his life shall find 1t. He
com pares life to grain of corn. There.
are two ways of dealing with corn.
One is to store it or eat it, thus getting
present or future qualification from 1t.
The other Is to put 1t in the ground,
where it Is lost to sight and will die,
but from it's death will come new life,
in great abundance. Ifit is possible to
lose our lives as the corn, is lost, that
loss is gain. It waa Christ's method
with his own life. His followers hoped
to make him temporal king, but
even if he had attained the grandeur
Of Solomon, his glory would have been
infinitely less than he reached by the
way he chose. Through his. death
multitudes, in ever-increasing pro-
gression, have come to new life. His
followers are to tread in. his steps.
They may not 60 to a violent and
premature death, but they must hold
their lives less dear than their service.
We know that this principle applies
In national and social life: A man
may 80 put his energies into enterprises
and movements that we say he puts
is life into them, and these move
ments may 60 on growing long after
his physical life has been extinguished.
Looking at Cooper Union In, New
York, and seeing how young men and
women toiling through the day for
their daily bread, 60 to that institution
in the evening and find there the books,
and appliances and teachers that they
need for their mental development, we
see how Peter Cooper's life is perpet-.
uated. The institution which was
his darling project, on which he Law
ished bis best thought, his money and
his labor, lives on and In it's benefi-
cence 'perpetuates the essence Of Its
founders life. It Is 80 with books. It.
does not seem that Thomas Carlyle Is
dead; when his thrilling words age
forming the characters OF men. 1t is
so in, national affairs. The. Pilgrim
Fathers, and later, Washington and
his colleagues, started influences which
pulsate fn our national veins to this
day. Their lives are still extending.
So it was with religious leaders. Who
cans that Luther and Knox and
Wesley and Beecher and Phillips
Brooks and Detrummond are dead,
when the work into which they put
their. lives is operating still. The
worlds benefaotors won their laurels by
selfsacrifce. They gave up ease and
luxury :and peace and quiet, that they
might make life better for future gene
rations. They lost their lives, in 30
far as their enjoyment of them con-
sisted, but they won an immortality
which will endure while the world
lasts. This principle of losing life to
find 1t, Is familiar to US. ...
The same principle may be applied
in the most humble spheres. He who
is ready to render service. who is ready
to give up enjoyment that he may help
some one who needs it., will lose his
life in this glorious fashion. Opportu-
nifty come to all. The daughter who
gives up her pleasure to help her tired
mother with her work the man who
leaves his comfortable home in the
evening that he may speak word for
Christ to the castaway the Christian
who in any way denies himself and
sacrifices his own inclinations that he
may help. another, is losing, his life,
but will find it to life eternal..-
Christian .Endeaver.