The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-04-29

working among the children.
Another gate stands wide open fol
practical gospel usefulness. This gate
leads into a field aglow with ripenec
human grain, ready to be garnered. II
is crowded with young people. But
though crowded with the young mel
and maidens, yet each passenger trair
coming into our large cities is empty
ing part OF its load into this field as
the freight trains daily disgorge theii
cattle and horses and sheep into the
Chicago stock yards. and yet there il
always room for more
How is the Christian 10 20 after the
young people? Simply enough. lie il
10 90 after them with the same vigoi
as the agents Of evil 20 after theii
prey. Here, for instance, is a young
man who comes into a large city. He
has no friends. Through an old ac
Quaintance Of his father he gets posi-
ton in your store. He has small
bedroom in a city boarding house. How
is the Christian disciple 10 greet himi
Is he to merely pass Good morning
or is he 10 20 to that young man and
open a conversation something Ike
this: Good morningl Are you stran.
ger in the city? Are you from a Chris
tian home? OF course you have nc
church connections as yet. VIII you
not come down to our church next sun.
day morning2 We have our Christian
Endeayor social next Thursday night
| wish that | could introduce you &c
some Of our young people. II is very
easy to drift among bad associates i'm q
large town like this. | want you 10 get
among the good people. We have some
fine young folks up at our church. ]
know that you will get warm wei
come. Perhaps you do not know the
city well enough TO find your way
Come with me to supper, and we VIII
20 together, or | will call at your room
for you"
But" some aged church member
saws. "this invitation duty TO the young
folks may apply TO others but not to
me. am not fitted for work among
the young. My hair is gray. My nerves
are not steady. ! have postponed com
ing 10 Christ until / have passed my
twoscore and ten. II 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 a Christian young man
or a young woman. That person Is a
Christian gray haired man or woman
who is still blessed with a young heart
Another glorious field OF Christian
usefulness is TO be found in missionary
work. What do mean by thatf Chris
tian labor among the cannibals Of the
south seas? Among the fur rObed Eskl.
mos. in their igloos. OF the ley north
Among the tattooed Maoris Of New
Zealand and the half civilized natives
Of the orient? Oh, yes. They are all
included I'm that term, missionary
work" The divine command, "Go ye
therefore. and teach all nations, bap-
tizing them I'm the name Of the Ia
ther and the Son and the Holy Ghost,
has a worldwide significance. One OF
the first duties Of a Christian is "a
work for the foreign missionary socie
ty OF his church. BY money donations
by needlework and by pledges you
should re-enforce our Christian mis-
sionaries 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 Bengal Of India are your
brothers-brothers in Christ.
How can the Christian work In the
slums? By giving at least one evening
Of each week II possible to work in one
of the city's rescue missions. You have
a good voice. Go TO those meetings and
sing. They need you. You know OF
should know how TO pray. Go there
and lead in prayer. If you can do nc
more you can at least give out a hymn
book and smile a welcome. Go there
and do that. How can you do mission
ary work in the back alleyf Go and
visit the poor homes that are only
stones throw from your door. You vii
find there people who are silently yeI
nobly struggling for life. 1t was wei
said by a great Christian leader "Ih'
deserving poor are those whom yor
have TO seek and not those who seei
YOU Go in Chrlsts name and hum
the deserving pOor-the halt the lame
the blind. There is something wrong
about that Christian who when Thanks
giving day rolls around does not know
at least one family to which he can II
/ Christ's name send q dinner. There Il
something wrong about that Christian
who has never yet been able to hold
cottage prayer meeting in a poor mans
house.
Another glorious field for Christian
activity is found in hospital work. II il
found where Christ spent most Of hi
earthly ministry-namely, among tn
sick. 1t IS found Al going through tn
wards filed with white cots and leaV
ing here a flower and there word o
encouragement and yonder a prayer /
is found in the children's wards. wher
many little ones are cursed with a fu
tile struggle for physical existence
cursed from the moment that they wer
born. 1t Is found in the old people,
homes. where the aged and the physic
ally inirm. sometimes petulantly, some
times lovingly and longingly, are wall
ing for the last summons to join the 81
lent majority beyond. 1T is better I
90 TO the house Of mourning than to tn
house Of feasting." Yes But / believ
It is better to go to the bedside Of th
sick than to stand by the caskets OF tn
dead. BY the white couch Of physica
pain the opportunities for doing goo
are even greater than by the whit
shrouds Of the departed.
But. though the hospitals are filled
overhowing, how few Of us ever thin