Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-04-12
LIFE WITH A PURPOSE.
Remarkable Example That Was Fur
nished by Daniel.

Remarkable Example That Was Fur-
nished by Daniel.
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer:
One of the great and admirable char
acters mentioned in the Bible Is that
of Daniel. If we would trace his great
ness to it's true source we would find
that it was due to the fact that Dan
lei had a fixed righteous purpose IN
life.
And so, dear reader, it must be with
you II you accomplish anything In life.
Without a fixed righteous purpose
your life will be failure. True great
ness comes not from ancestry, but
through the faithful execution OF a
noble purpose. II you ever attain un-
to true greatness, it will not be be-
cause your parents were great, but be-
cause you yourself were faithful to
your righteous purpose.
You will find that the men who have
accomplished great things In the
world were men who had something
definite before them. Take the persons
who have developed the use Of steam
power, or those who have made elec-
tricity the useful servant Of man, or
those who have accomplished great
things in letters or art, and you VIII
find that they were persons who work.
ed toward a definite end. And when
we turn to the religious side of life,
we find the same thing true there.
Paul, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley,
Spurgeon and Moody were men who
accomplished great things In the
church of Christ, and they accomplish
ed great things because they had as
their guiding star the glory of God
and. the advancement Of the Masters
kingdom. They were men with a pur-
pose in life.
But a man can form a purpose, live
up to that purpose, and still waste
his energies. The men of Babel had
definite purpose, go to-" say they,
"let us build us a city and a tower,
whose top may reach unto heaven;
and let us make a name." etc. This
was certainly definite enough, but
their efforts ended in dismal failure.
Saul of Tarsus had something definite
before him. His one purpose was to
destroy the church Of Christ. To this
end he put forth all his powers, and
yet while he was doing so he was
himself rushing madly toward destruc-
ton. So we must not only have a
definite purpose, but we must see to
it that that purpose is righteous one.
There are many, however, who seem
to have no purpose at all in life. They
don't know where they are going or
what they are going to do. Such per-
sons are worth little to themselves, and
less to others. They are simply adrift
in the world. Drifting in this way is
dangerous. 1t means, If persisted IN,
wasted life, and in the last essence, q
lost soul. And when the soul in3est,
all is lost that is worth having. You
L|o-the Atlantic ocean, and standing
ron shore you see a magnificent ship
miles from land. 1t Is perfect in all
its parts. 1t lies there at cost of
many thousands Of dollars. But there
is no steam in the engine, no captain
to direct it's course. and no anchor to
retain it at it's station. For days 1t
drifts with the tide. First in one direc-
ton and then in the other. But at
length driving storm strikes the wa
ters, the ship Is driven nearer and near
er to land, it is hurled against the
breakers and the grand structure goes
down. And just so, dear reader, it is
with many magnificent specimens of
humanity. God has fitted them for
the work that he would have them do.
and they are on the voyage of life.
But there is no love for God in their
hearts as a motive power, there Is no
faith in Christ as an anchor to the
soul, and there Is no fixed righteous
purpose to pilot them on the voyage.
For a while all apparently goes well.
They are drifting here and there. But
NY anu ny llle SlOIlli ulCdhS upoil lhChi'
they are driven upon the breakers of
eternity, and their souls are lost.
Avoid, I beseech you the folly. Of
forming a wrong purpose, and the
folly of having no purpose at all, for
both alike end in destruction.
But purpose in your heart: 1.
That you are going to spend your life
in the service of God, and then stand
by that purpose at all cost. 2. That
you will be real factor in the church
and in the world. This is the purpose
for which God has created you, and you
ought to try to fill nobly your place in
life. 1t is true that all cannot become
great from the worlds point Of view.
but all can become great to the full
measure Of their abilities; and this Is
all God requires Of any one. We may
be small in powers. but God has
taught US that we must not despise the
day of small things Small factors are