The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-01-22

that life. forgetting self. rises above self
and exhauses itself for others. The ethical
world reioces in this newly found truth
Go back 1900 years and there you win fine
One whose days were spent in doing others
good. Follow Jesus through His ministry
and you will soon discover that you are
following the footsteps of the worlds one
unselfsh man and its greatest philanthro-
mist. Every act is designed to help an
other. You seek for the least trace of
selfshness in vain. Every work bears the
seal of humanitv's best. Indeed. so far
are they above the worlds best that they
bring in their wake sweet thoughts of
. God See Him as He works. A little
while ago He fed the hungering thousands.
1t was but yesterday He touched new life
into the maniac boy and smoothed the
deep burrows from a fathers brow. This
morn He drove the fever from the sick one
in Peters home, and mayhap, ere the day
is done He will whi@per the hope Of a pure
and holy life to the harlot at the well.
We have not too much thought of the
works of Jesus as the acts Of one fellow
man toward others. When viewed accord
ing to this standard they are seen to be
the highest realization of mans highest
ideal Christ was wise when lie said, Be
hold My works." for according to the find
ings of the best thought Of all the ages no
works are mere beautiful or, higher God.
L
His acts prove His kinship with the divine.
But tbs was not enough to satisfy Jew.
The Christ they were looking for was TO
demonstrate His divine power by The
might and conquest of arms. They he'd 1T
all cut and dried Just what the Christ
should be and do. He was suddenly to an
pear out of the heavens or out OF some Sc
ouestered way of life, attended by great
wonders. With the sword He was quickly
to overrln the world and set up in ,leru-
salem power that would rule all nations.
ANY love or philanthropy that could be
worked in would be all right, but before
all else Messiah must be the messenger. OF
Gods wrath against the nations, visiting
them with defeat and disaster, that the
Jew might rule supreme.
Thus it was that to the questioners of
His day Jesus proved to be stumbling
block Did they find in Him more than
human power? Yes, they conceded that
they did. AS they saw Him restore the
emaciated body of the leper, or infuse new
life into the palsied form or open the eyes
of the blind, or raise the dead from the
grave, they were bound dt to recognize more
than human power. The gross and mali
cious said this power is OF the devil, hut
the more intelligent said, as they saw the
,nseltishness. the love and tenderness OF
His acts, owe have never seen it done on
This wise beforei" "No man could do
these works except God be with himl"
"Surely this must be the Christi! Inc
dav riven in the terms of love, an answer
which they would not or could not under.
stand. is that which satisfies the heart and
reason of the INQUIRER of to-day. 1t is as
though Jesus said. "You ask if | am really
the Christ of God and in Him you look
for divine power. Look at My works, are
Hey not Of the highest type? Aye, more,
they are fraught with the power OF God
and prove, not only that am the Christ,
but that the nature of God is better than
the thought of man has made him. He is
a God of tenderness, of love-" Blessed an
swer, for it teaches that character is su.
preme, and that the highest life is one OF
simple ministry to the needs of others.
To the inquirer of to-day the answer OF
Jesus should be convincing. Since It Is
ours to look from the mountain peak OF
many centuries we may, however, see still
other proofs and find still other answers
to the all important question, WAS Jesus
the Christ~ History gives twofoId an
swer, first as seen in the preparation OF
the world for the coming OF tle Messiah
and then in the development OF the worlds
thought since the days of Jesus. Paul de-
clares that "when the fulness Of time was
come. God sent forth His Son" into the
world. By the fuiness of tame lie must
have meant the period that v to elapse,
@ording to the wisdom Of God, before
Ms Son, the Christ. should come. Now, x
Jesus was The Christ, we may expect to
find the circumstances OF the, time IN
which He lived peculiarly lifted for H,s
coming. What were these circumstances!
The vast Roman empire afforded a. broad
and accessible field for the. spread OF
new religion. The sceptre of Roman pow
er ruled the world Radiating from Rome
as a centre were splendid military roads
which extended to the remotest boundaries
of the empire Because of these and the
opening of ocean routes travel was easy
as compared with preceding centuries
People Travelled more. Thus facilities for
disseminating a new truth were better
than ever before in the worlds history.
But the most notable preparation was
that of the Jewish people. They had. long
striven with their desire to worship ldols.
At last their vision was clarified in tins re-
gard. and the way was open for a further
revelation. Moreover. the, discerning
among them, from reading the annals OF
their fathers. had come to long for the
promised Messiah until that longing. was
kindled to a fervent heat. All these things
peculiarly fitted the time in which Jesus
lived for the reception and spread OF great
religious truths.
Nor is history since that time less re-
markable. He died death of shame; none
could according to the common notion De
more ignominous or disgraceiful. His
friends apparently were few, That lie
would soon be forgotten would seem nat
ural But it was not so. His followers
secutions began and thousands Of them
were burned, roasted, speared and glveIn,
over to wild beasts. Notwithstanding all
this. within 300 years one-twentieth part
of the empire were professed Christians
the Emperor himself a among be 1r tne Chris
tianity and civilization have gone hand in
hand. MANY of the great upheavals OF
the worlds life is the story of Christianity
asserting herself against the powers that