Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-03-04

were bitter against each other in this
100 years ago. The disciples
OF John the Baptist angrily declared
that John had baptized more followers
than Jesus. Christ. while the followers
OF Jesus angrily replied that Christ had
baptized more disciples than John. 1t
was in order to stop this bitterness that
Jesus left Judea and started north to-
ward Lake Galilee and went by the
way OF Samarie. Christ was ready to
do almost anything to stop the internal
among those who would III
timately accept him as their Saviour
and their Christ. Cannot we all realize
that no church can rightly accomplish
a sanctified glorious work for the Mas
ter unless that church has complete
gospel harmony within its own ranksf
Absolutely necessary Is II for Chris
tan people to love one another before
they can as church welcome the man
of the world into their midst with the
everlasting peace of the gospel" And
yet, my brother. there are scores and
hundreds of churches I'm this land
which are practically n source OF dis
sens.on TO the world instead of Chris
tian harmony. They are rent and torn
into factions by internal strife. The
Young Peoples society Is pulling
against the session: the session is find
ing fault with the board OF trustees;
the Ladies' Aid society Is sulking be-
cause Its members do not like the min
listers wife; the choir loft is In open
mutiny because the minister will not
let the quartet sing as much as they
want. Instead of the Christian people
Of the church getting together and
praying for each other and trying to
help each other for the good OF the
church they are now magnifying each
others faults and minifying each
others virtues.
Danger of Small Evils.
Want of gospel harmony In church,
although 1t be composed of only a long
series of little frictions and disturb
ances. will after awhile suck ont the
life's blood and Kill the usefulness of
q church. Indeed, the little church
disturbances, like the little sins OF life,
are more to be dreaded than the great
church. tornadoes. which may arise and
subside in a day. Major Waddell, in
bis book of ira ~els, once illustrated the
infinite damage which n multitudinous
collection CT small evils may accom-
plish. In the Teester valley of the
Himalayas he found small leech, no
thicker than knitting needle. But,
though very small, this little leech was
q pest. As an enemy OF man and
beast Sc was reaching forth for it's ami,
NAL victims from every twig and leaf
and blade OF grass. No sooner would
It touch. your flesh than ii drove in Its
little lance and began sucking out the
lifsblood. That little leech, though
small, had literally depopulated that
valley OF every beast and bird and rep
tile. The huge elephantine monsters
and the striped and furred tigers, as
well as the small rabbits and the grace
ful fawns, had fed before its attacks.
So In church work, the little frIctlons,
the little bitternesses, the little fault
findings" like the fatal leeches of the
Teester valley, can destroy the spiri-
tual life of any church. Christian
friends, as with Christ when he took
his Samaritan journey, pray hard, sac
ridge, plead, apologize, overlook fan
eied insult. do anything and everything
In your church family that is honora-
BILE rather than have ono pew un-
christianity find fault with another
pew. A forgiyIng layman bowling Mt
the mercy seat ~ just us essential for
church harmony as a forgiving minis
ter breaking the bread and pouring out
the wine at the table OF the holy CON-
munion.
The shortest Way best.
Lastly i think Christ took this
Samaritan Journey to prove that the
shortest way In life's work is generally
the best way. This is not absolutely
an invariable rule. but it holds good
In nearly every case. The country
or Samaria lay directly between Jeru-
salem and Galilee. IL was as much
between these two regions as the
states OF Indiana and Ohio lie In the
direct line between New York and
Chicago. But because the Jew hated
the Samaritan he would not go through
the Samaritan land. Therefore he
made big detour. In one sense he
made as big n detour as the traveller
coming from New York to Chicago
would make IL he went by the way OF
Louisville, Ky, instead of by the way
OF Buffalo or Pfttsburg. Christ in
Journeying TO Galilee simply took the
straight path. He went rs bird
would fly overland. lie went 20 Gal
lice through Samarla.
f.~ht
the right path. When that young
man comes into your store and asks
for n position, II YOU have not any
vacant place for him tell him so. Do
not say to yourself, Now / do not
want to hurt that young mans feel
ings. therefore I will tell him to come
back next week or next month" BY
such an answer you are doing nm injus-
tice TO the young man. and you are
doing an injustice to yourself. The
shortest way out OF difficulty is gen
orally the right way. Even for a sur
geon 1t is never pleasant act TO drive
knife into the quivering flesh to cut
ont the yirulent cancer. Neither is II
always pleasant task 70 tell a person
OF his faults. But when that young
girl who is doing wrong comes to you
for advice tell her the truth. Warn
her az you would like some one to warn
your morally endangered child. The
direct way out Of q difficulty is gen
orally the right way. So. my brother.
when you yourself have done wrong
wrong to your fellow men and wrong
TO God-be a Christian man and
straighten out the wrong and make
restitution for your moral deficiencies.
Confess your sins to God. The short
est way out Of difficulty is generally
the right way-the Christian way.
o man, o woman, will you
not today at the Samaritan well seek
Christ and ask his pardon for your
sins?' VIII you not do as did the So
cfal outcast who at the Samaritan well
round there her Saviour many GEN.
turtles ago?
A christiy Refuge.
The word 'Samaria" as a Christly
refuge In nil probability will always
mean more to me than to any one else