The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1905-05-25

| conscience between his Scnc0i DOCKS
and his fairy stories. 1t was a great
day for him! Any boys first struggle
is. But the man in the boy Won the
fight and in order to establish himself
beyond the possibility Of 4 lapse, he
threw his book of fairy stories into the
brook. His father. a precise. unimag-
NATIVE, dutiful soul. saw the beau
tiful book floating away and proceeded
to thrash his conQuering boy for his
wanton destruction. That is about all
many fathers appear to know how TO
do effectively! What 4 wonder he did
not spoil his boy! What boon bit
of appreciation, of sympathy would
have been to the suffering but victor
ious lad. He needed bread and his OBJ
tuSe father gave him stone. The
father could do what he thought was
his duty, but he had nothing to share
with his boy. He was q monumental
parental failure!
Large Christian service is always in
quest of the joint Of sympathy: it
makes its alliance with what is. help
ing it to what it ought to be. and avoids
the folly Of inverting the divine order.
This type Of helpfulnesS may be
meager in its ability to do, but is for
ever finding to its unspeakable JOY
that il has boundlesS store to divide,
Sharing sympathy is an infinitely more
royal privilege than donating cast off
clothing, or stale food. for 'if beS;ow
all my goods to feed the poor, but hath
not love it profiteth me nothing"
Sympathy as an elective Of Christian
service forever pushes soul on toward
democracy. Surely one may confess
with Lowell that while his tastes are
with the aristocratS, his convictions
are with the people and yet, like Low
ell. he forever more and more pushed
into the very heart Of humanity and
glory in the push. too.
The preacher who confessed to 4
friend that he loved to preach and
who was met by the stinGing. search
ing question. do you love the men to
whom you preach as we'll as you love
to preach:" felt the thrust Of the sword
between the joints Of his harness.
which sent him to his study to fall
upon his knees and pa1sionately pray
that he might be delivered from his
temptation to love his sermons better
than he did souls, preaching better than
persons. The appeal of humanity must
outstrip that Of homileticS.
Christian service to-day must he i'm
mersed in the democratic spirit: its
mission is to umanity-humanity as
represented by Ellis Island. also by
Clinton avenue: by Greater New York.
also by the lumber camps Of Michigan.
Every man is q son of God. Every
woman is a daughter of God. Go. find
Your man. and by the shining truth in
your soul. by the sympathy in yoLr
heart. by the humanity in your out
stretched hand. make him believe, that
you seek not his, but him.
This-thiS alone-is Christian service.
Christian service after this fashion be-
comes at once an Interpreter. 1t makes
q Gibraltar out of diSadvantageGuS
position: it transforms an ordinary.
commonplace ability into shining
angel of privilege and achievement.
Everything counts: all things work to-
Sether. Because the world is one and
the kingdom one nothing is lost. moth
ing trivial. nothing inconsequential! 1t
makes a man grow tall and strong and
confident 70 really believe the constant
assurance Of Christian service, that
All men ignored in me ~'''@>s
This was l worth to God
Whose wheel the pitcher shaped.
1t is to such service. broad. true,
sympathetic, humanitarian, Christian,
that we commit ourselves to-day; it IS
in such service that we expect'to find
our privilege and joy, and from such
service that we hope to demonstrate
the reaSonableneSs Of our united en-
leaTOr,