Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-03-17

| OF my brothers are gospel ministers.
am the only black sheep ir tho {. >,
lily. Thus You need not worry 49,.
the old folks. Five children Z o.
six who are Christians Is not sucu :,
bad record" Ah. my brother. Wien
you speak like that. even though you
are married, l know you have not yet
fathomed tle depth of your mothers
and fathers love. The true Christian
parents happiness is dependent not
upon the Christian lives OF a few. but
of all their children. No matter how
many children Chr, itian mother has.
she Is never happy unless all are IN the
gospel fold. she viii never be happy
il one fingers outside. You remember
the old story OF how rich man want
ed TO adopt one OF the children OF n
large family belonging Il German
peasant. The Itch man said to the IA
tier. Il will take any child YOU Sc
lect." That night while all the chill
dren were asleep the father and the
mother went from bed to bel to make
their choice. Not this one" said they:
mot that one" mot the other ONE
So they went through all the rooms.
Though they had many children, they
could not let one of them so. SO, my
friends, though you may have brothers
who are Christians and sisters who are
Christians, that is not enough for that
old gray haired father and mother.
They want all their children to be
Christians. VIII you not leave the
crooked path OF sin today to make
them happy? Your sins, your unpar-
1ooed sins, are pressing heavily upon
their hearts.
"Oh," says some one, would that
could do as you ask l would do any
thing on earth IL could only lift the
burden of my sins, which / compelled
my dear old father and mother to car
~, but Ii is too late-it is, alas, too
late! They are now forever past ear
rying the burden of my sins. My IA
Their died as did the father OF the
Scotch poet. On his sickbed he was
asked by his minister IL he was worried
about anything. Then my father look
cd at me as the father of Robert Burns
looked ut his son on a similar occasion.
and he answered: Nothing. I am wor-
rying about nothing except my boy
Robert But father is dead now. can
never bring him back to tell him how 1
have repented of my past sins"
Bearing Burdens In Heaven.
Your father and mother beyond the
burden OF your sins? Friend. L do not
know about that. Even in heaven I
think they are still longing and hoping
for our salvation. for one cannot un-
derstand how there can be Joy in heav-
ON cir h,s
not any thoughts about us who are
still unrepentnnt. One of the greatest
Of New York pastors once told me that
when anything went wrong in his life
he used to feel the warm. loving arms
| OF his redeemed daughter about his
neck, and be could hear her dear lips
speak to him words of counsel which
would bring him to his better self. l do
not believe 1t beyond the range OF pos
sibilities for our dear ones to be anX-
ious about our unrepentant souls. Even
now would not be surprised IL they
were sending forth an angelic messen-
ger to find out what our decision is to
be. Heaven, beautiful heaven! Have
our redeemed parents any burdens
about our unpardoned sins i'm heaven?
Perhaps by taking you on past
Journey 10 the place where 1 spent
most of my boyhood days 1 might help
you To decision TO give your hearts
to Jesus Christ. The journey which
you are to take occurred n short time
after my fathers burial. After his
body had been laid away to sleep by the
side OF my mother 1 said TO my sister.
Come. let us go and look Mt the old
house" We walked down the street
where we both had played many years
before. AS 1 went along 1 began to
call up the names of the different
neighbors. But the houses now had
strange fnces looking out OF the win
dows. The little children who were
playing in the street looked much like
my old playmates. They laughed and
shouted and jumped Just as we used
to jump, but their eyes were different
They edged Off from the sidewalk as
we came niong. We were strangers TO
them- They We're strangers to us.
All, yes, here IL the old house. IL
stands rs sentinel overlooking Fort
Green park, where one OF the old Revo-
iutionary battles was fought and where
some OF the old Revolutionary veterans
lie buried. From the outside the old
mouse looked about the same There
was the vine mother planted. still
crawling over the side and clinging TO
the roof and trying to cover up the
windows. Indeed, the house looked so
much like the past that thought for
an instant mother would be waiting
Tor me in the front room to welcome
me home from college. Just to The rear
OF the house was the old grapevine ar
DOT pulit by Captain Spicer before he
iost Ms wife and manly son. whom I
can JUST remember. had often taken
my dessert o. fruit there before / an
swer the dinner bell. But. come.
must NOT linger outside. Here let mo
take peek I'm at the window. wen
uer, IL yonder policeman will think I
am thief. He wears just the same
KIND or brass buttons as did the officer
VINO used TO chase me off the mark
grass when 1 was playing "hound and
Mares ana climbing up yondcr walls
more ike trapcze performer than O
mare scurrying for her burrow.
Visiting the Old Home.
fes, mere Is the parlor There I saw
my nrst Christmas tree. There thav
iaid me as little baby In a basket as
Christmas present for my father
There. In that same room, first saw
the dead face OF a relative My broth
ers casket lay there. Mothers body
was covered with flowers there. And
there we met to laugh as well as 20
weep.
Up and through the house we went
Each room had for US history. In
each place we could see the LIVING ond
the dead side by side Now it was
SISTER In her bridal robes, now death
Ded scene. now-but stop; l cannot go
further. You would not have mo a.
you could. The history of my old home
was merely the history OF yours. onIv
under other names. With us IL was
Jessie, De Witt, May, Edith. Prank
Daisy, Maude. With you IL was Ger.
trude, Sarah, Carrie, William, John