The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-11-11
The Church.
Reginald Heber

Inc Church.
The church is like a river; the figure
is Biblical. The river rises In the
mountains and comes flowing down
over the rocks, dancing and singing in
the glee Of its early youth; 1t comes
to the mill-pond, reservoirs there its
forces, and drives the busy wheel that
grinds out the grist which feeds =
thousand families: 1t flows to the
lower levels, and forms pools where
the boys come when work Is done and
plunge within the water and come out
refreshed and cleansed by the bath; it
flows on into the great meadows and
waters thousand blades of grass and
the roots Of a thousand trees that do
not so much as know Of its presence;
and so it goes on to the sea. Like that
is the church of God; now singing glad
songs in the sunlight OF Gods love.
now driving the busy wheels OF philan-
thropic and humane industry, nov
forming great bathing places where.
Sunday after Sunday. you and | come
and get our bath and go away cleans
ed. refreshed, inyigorated, helped and,
beyond that, feeding with its benef-
cence thousand men and women who
either do not know of its existence or
know OF it only to scoff How many
hospitals or asylums or public philan
thropies OF any kind would there be
II there were no churches? How much
honor and Integrity. how much hon
esty and uprightness how much trust
and confidence, II there were none of
these reservoirs from which the
springs OF life are furnished? The
church is the church Of God It re-
ceives its life from him 1t gives its
life out through individual work.
through institutional work. through
the preached word. through many
ministries. No church deserves to be
called a church OF Christ that is not.
in its time and place and generation.
a life-giver. wonder what would be-
come OF New England If it should ever
lose its churches. They tell me that
people are not going to church as
much as they used to in New England.
They tell me that in the hillside towns
the churches are falling into decay be-
cause men and women frequent them
no longer They tell me that in the
great cities men and women are be-
ginning to forego church privileges and
forget church duties do not know
whether this be true or not; have
learned to distrust somewhat the
vague and general statements that are
not founded on accurate observation.
But this / know. it Is not more certain
that forest fires will sweep the hill
side. and meadow fires the meadows,
when the wells and springs dry up.
than that death and devastation would
come upon this fair. beloved New Eng
land OF ours II ever the springs OF its
life the Christian churches. should
lose their vitalizing power. should be
forgotten and allowed to drop into
ruin. know the faults OF the church,
| know its follies, its divisions. its
coldness. its prosecuting spirit. its
apathy. But. spite Of all, tell me where
in human history there is such an or
ganlzation Of men and women. or ever
has been. bound together BY so splen-
did loyalty, holding SO heartily the
great. fundamental faith In God IN the
invisible world. and the living Christ
the revelation Of them both. and work
ing with an unselfish purpose In the
worlds redemption. as Is to be found
in Chr:sts church. It Is a life-giyer.
Lyman Abbott. d. D.