Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-12-16

VI " SSh"'V"' "S WIN an authors Den Is
never seen or heard by the preacher or
writer. Like Peter with his shadow
most OF the spiritual results OF ssr'
mon appear when n minister has gone
back 10 his home. his bed or his study
The direct results OF n Christian.s
professional work can never be fullv
estimated by the agent of a gosnel
miracle. Let me illustrate my thought
from my own experience. 1 remember
some years ago when preaching I'm
Pittsburg there came up one Sunday
n terrific storm. The wind blew and
shrieked through those city streets.
The snowfakes We're pillng themselves
uD so that traffic was impeded l came
out from my study that afternoon and
said to n member of my family: 1T
does seem absurd 10 preach tonight.
No one will be there. III do preach,
have half mind to save that sermon
/ have been so busily writing for the
past six days. 1t does seem n shame
for me to practically throw it away"
NO answered my wife; you had
better preach It. You have always
made it rule TO give your people the
best you had. IL any one comes out
tonight he deserves your best. Be
sides that, God has always most bless
ed your work OH stormy nights"
said: Eyes. that is true. l will give
them the best I have. I Will preach
the sermon" That night the audience
was very small. But while the few
people We're gathering l saw one wo-
man enter the church and come down
the aisle to the left of the pulpit. She
seemed TO be intensely interested in
the sermon. When il was finished and
the benediction pronounced she came
to the pulpit and said. 81 will send you
n letter SOON" Then she passed quiet
~ out.
l went home feeling that the night
was wasted. But some time afterward
1 heard OF the result of that sermon.
That woman that night was deciding
whether or no she should desert her
home. Her temper even then was by
her side, urging her to life OF sin.
That one sermon, on that stormy night,
under the power of the Holy Spirit,
turned the tide. She wrote to thank
me for what i had said. That letter
was one of the most impressive lessons
1 ever had. for II taught me that no
Christian mans work is unimportant,
even under the most unsatisfactory
and discouraging conditions. Our un-
suspected and unreported influences
are so great for good that only Gods
recording angel has ledger big enough
to keep the records. Never, o minis
ter. lawyer, physician, neglect your
work because of its seeming insignifi-
canoe. AS with Peters shadow. IL
may, all unknown to you. reach some
whose sin sick soul may be healed by
the Holy Spirits power working
through it.
Unconscious Influence.
The public man has his shadow. The
private man has his unconscious in
fiuence also. The Christian lawyer,
doctor, merchant, minister, have their
direct influence when they are doing
their public work. They also have
their unconscious influence when they
are walking through the streets, and
sitting in the elevated trains, and eat.
ing In their home dining room or in
public restaurants, when they think no
Strangers eye Is watching them and
no strangers ear is overhearing what
they say. They have their unconscious
influence when. unknown to them,
people are weighing them in the bal
ances as they are standing before n
jury or prescribing I'm the sic<room or
preaching In the pulpit. They have
their unconscious influence even when
they are "out OF harness" and think
they can do as they please and that
no one will ever know what they dc.
Some of you may have read the
book called ~ Man Without n Shad-
ow." That caption may be very star
Ting. but IL Is impossible of realiza-
ton. No time in life comes whom a
man is sbadowless. Even I'm the dark
corridors OF the mines the little lamps
throw tire outlines OF the minerg upon
the black walls behind them. There
Is no time in life when a man is I'M
seen and not watched. Last summer
spent many days trolling for fish In
the Pacific ocean. Strange to say, 1
did not have TO see n fish before /
knew what was on the end of the line.
The big mackerel would pull steadily
in n straight line. The thick bodied
albicore would at once dive to the bot
tom OF the sea. The strong filmed vel
lowtail would seesaw, now on this side
of the boat, now on the other, and only
the gam hook could stop his struggles.
The barracuda would seem 10 swim
toward the boat. Like n tender mouth
ed horse, each pull of the line would
make him obey your will the quicker.
The sea bass would come to the sur
race, and you would have TO he care
ful or. like trapeze performer, he
would turn complete somersault over
your line and be off. So men In a com
munity, like some fish in the sea. are
known by their neighbors in their pri-
waite lives even though those men may
think they are unseen. They all have
their unconscious influence when they
are at play as we'll as when at work.
Rather than write such n book as
"a Man Without n Shadow" would
prefer to write one called ''The Man
With Frozen Shadows" That figure
which the great American humorist,
Samuel L. Clemens, drew OF the sailors
In the arctic regions chopp!ng each
others shadows off the ships deck, so
that their friends would not stumble
over them, is not impossible of concep-
ton in the moral and spiritual world.
What gave the late William Chiches-
ter, the most powerful religious leader
the Pacific coast ever produced, his
marvellous hold or men? His eloquent
tongue? / think not California, be.
lieve, has had preachers as eloquent as
he was. His organizing ability? !
think not. / believe others here have
been just as great organizers. will
tell you-it was his simple. true, pure.
Christian private life. 1t was his ten.
der Christian heart which made him
stop on the street corner and buy a
bag of fruit and give 1t to a common
painter and say: Take this fruit home
to your good old mother, with my love.
Tell her that with such prayers as she
offers and with such life as she leads
she ought to have n good SON" IT was