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

WI" IL your IrlenuE Il do not know:
90 not remember ever seeing him be-
fore" "Why did you ask him. then.
How is the old complaintY" "Oh."
said Disraeli, "all old peopie have
troubles of some sort, and IL pleases
most OF them to talk about them. Il
rarely make mistake IL l saw. How
Is your old complaintT 1t pleases them
to recount their troubles, and IL does
not hurt me-" Yes, it may not have
hurt Disraeli when that man talked
about his troubles, but it did hurt the
speaker. The easiest of ways to tighten
the burdens OF old age is to hide them
from the eyes of others.
Fit Them 60 Take Your Place.
But lastly, / remark. the easiest of all
ways to renew youth is to try to fit
others to take your place after Won
are gone. OF course l take for granted
that L am today talking to Christians.
Now, as aged Christians, you are near
ing the great dividing line which is GO
ing to bring you to your eternal reward.
AS you are nearing heaven shall you
spend most OF your time talking about
heaven and its eternal rewards? oh,
no. You must spend nearly all of your
last days in fitting the young men and
women by your side to take your place
You must be to your son and your
daughter and your friends what Paul
was to Timothy, and Elijah was TO
Elisha, and Christ was to his disciples.
In the anxiety to flt others to put on
your own armor you will find your own
heart throbbing with the ambitions of
youth. You will then find old age TAX
ing on the beauties Of youth, even as
In the Indian summer the flowers Of the
late autumn start to grow again after
the forests have incarnadined the leaves
with their life's blood.
Old age should pass its twilight hours
as 1 would pass the few intervening
days prior to making a long journey
away from home. II L was to go to
Africa or Europe or Asia as an Ameri-
can soldier would spend my last days
here in weeping? oh, no. 1 would
spend the few days before sailed In
preparation. 1 would say to my wife:
MY dear, you do this or that or the
| other thing after 1 am gone. 1 must
put enough money in the bank In your
name to meet your wants" II was q
merchant, would say to my son: "Son,
you are now to take charge of the store.
L do not want you to run into debt.
Keep the business going along on its
old lines" If L had one boy who was a
wayward son / would talk to him about
| God and his future. I would try-oh,
try so hard-to lead him to Christ Each
moment of my life would be spent In
the best way I could for those would
leave behind. And in looking after their
interests would find my life growing
in beauty and in Joy. Aging men and
women, are we spending our last earth
ly days like this? Are we trying in ev-
cry way to flt those who are to take our
places to do as well as we have done
or even better? AS old doctors are we
helping the young physicians? As old
| ministers are we guiding the young
| ministers? AS old Christians are we
trying to make every one with whom
we come in contact Christians? All,
this is the chief way and the happiest
| way that we can renew our youth and
| prepare ourselves for the eternal joys
OF the never ending youth Of heaven.
When my father made his last visit
| to his old classmate, DR.. Suydam, he
| said: "Well, Suydam, we are coming
near the end OF our earthly journey.
How do you feel about it?' Some OF
us are not as old as was my father
when he asked that question at seven
| ty years OF age, but we are all heading
toward old age. How will we feel
| about IL when II comes? We shall feel
about old age all right If we live ac-
| cording to the Christ law. We will feel
| about it all wrong IL we do not do as
Christ would have us do in fitting 9TH
ers for life's battles and fitting our
selves for heaven. May God make the
| twilight of our earthly life the most
beautiful and the happiest part OF our
| day. May the twilight OF our earthly
| life, sinking behind the western hillock
/ OF our grave, be colored with the same
< beauties as is the beautiful sunrise of
heaven, which even now we can see
| cleaning in the east over the hill of
| Calvary and over the central cross
| upon which once hung the dying body
| OF Christ, who died that we might for
| ever live in him and through him and
| with him.
copyright. 1905. by Louis Tiopschl