St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-07-16

I/IN III ened me III my uIS 81
I|Z'lE11<NMWMTW impression sion an, a n d
ed clearly saw the underlying motive
of his visit, and what he hoped to &C
complish thereby. We all have similar
experiences, I think. We are not al
ways able however, to penetrate to the
hidden motives of others and clearly
understand the purposes which underly
their conduct toward us. Neither Is 1t
wise or right that we should be always
to us have Interior motives or selfish
ends to serve. But Jesus, who could
read the heart and knew what was in
man." always understood the impulses
and purposes of the people who drew
near unto Him and followed Him. In
than man could himself; He could pen
citrate deeper and understand more
clearly the impulses and motives than
could man himself; for no man knows
himself perfectly, nor Is conscious Of
the many underlying conditions and
motives which rule in his life. And so
when that great multitude Of people
who had received His bounty in the
wilderness and been filled had sought
Him out at Capernaum the next day, He
knew at once what had brought them.
He knew what thoughts had stirred in
their breasts the day before when they
wanted to make Him a king, and He
understood what had drawn them SO
eagerly around the shore line of the
lake and back to the city again. There
fore, in answer to their wondering
question as to how He had come
.thither so quickly, He replies: Eye
seek Me, not because We saw signs, but
because We ate of the loaves and were
filed"
A ND by His earnest, searching re-
n Duke He at once laid bare the hid
den motives which brought them to
Him and forcibly suggested the high
est desires which should cause one to
seek Him. Jesus came not to minister
to the physical man, the lower nature,
but to the spiritual, the higher, ma
ture-that' is, the soul of man. He
did not come to establish bake shop
and soup kitchen, at which the hun
cry multitudes could be fed He did
not come to make man think of his
stomach and to find satisfaction when
it was full and to feel no higher i'm
pulses or aspirations He did not
come to make this life so attractive and
easy, to multiply the comforts of the
natural man, by miraculous touch, so
that man should forget that he had a
soul with deeper needs and higher pos
sibilities. No. He came because the
greatest need of man was the soul
need, and that He might become for it
the Bread of Life that could give life
eternal, and satisfy the deepest needs of
the soul. Jesus plainly declared His
mission in the world when He said:
II came that they may have life, and
may have it abundantly." And over and
over and over again He stated this fact.
And He who came with this supreme
purpose; He who lived and suffered and
died that this purpose might be &C.
complished, searcheth the hearts of
men to see what it is that draws them
unto Him. What is it that the all-pen-
etrating eye of the Lord beholds?
What hidden motives, what, selfish
ends and aims lie buried in the heart,
unknown and unobserved by men, but
painfully apparent to God? Must not
Jesus say over and over again to null
titudes in the world to-day who are
nominally His followers, who are men,
bers of Christian congregations, who
share in the activities of the church
life: Verify. verify, say unto you,
We seek Me, not because We saw signs,
but because ys ate Of the loaves and
were filed"
EFT VI analyze this condition little
l. more carefully and see If we cannot
lay bare some of the dangerous posi-
bilities lurking here? What are some
of the motives that draw people into the
church? Ioverheard a woman say once
that she had united with a certain
church because of the social advantages
which it gave. In the community where
she lived the social life was largely CEN
tered in the church, and observing this
she sought membership therein that she
might eat of the loaves of the social life
and be filled. knew man at one time
who, with business keenness, identified
himself with the church because of the
trade it would bring him. Having tasted
of the patronage of the church people
and coveting more of these loaves, he
eagerly sought church association and
fellowship that he might gain the more.
These are the lower and base motives
which may tempt people to seek the
church. Then there are the desires for