Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1905-07-06
JULY 6, 1905.

keeping themselves unspotted. This
new way was one of life, of the eternal
kind Of life, but it was living the eter-
nal kind of life in the midst of time,
living it in subjection to Jesus by the
strength of God.
| The fourth characteristic Of the first
Christians way of living was, they
treated men rs brothers. This was the
one thing which, next to their cheerful
servitude of Christ, most impressed
the heather world Behold" said the
pagan, "how these Christians love one
another" From the very first they
walked in the love way. They did not
look upon other men rs mere tools for
selfish qualification. as mere means for
ones own ends; they worked for others
interests, they found joy in their sue
cesses and pain in their reverses.
The Christians first zane for them
selves was "The Brothers." And so
| full of this idea of brotherhood were
| they that first off, they went daft over
| it and thought it involved communism.
| Each man sold his possessions and
| pooled the proceeds and let the apostles
| distribute the fund as each brother
had need. Not one Of them said that
| aught he possessed was his own, but
they had all things in common" 1t did
| not take them long to find out that
| brotherhood involves no sensoless level
| ing down of everything and everybody,
that it involves elder ana younger,
stronger and weaker, larger and
smaller But though they had aban-
doned this experiment. they conserved
the fundamental principle of mutual
service and brothcrly dnion. They
lived a way which had as its motto,
Bear yc one anO:hers burdens"
Christianity meant walking in the
Road of the Loving Tart"
These. then, were the characteristics
of the Christian way as the first Chris
tians understood tit was Il life of
subicction to Jesus, a life lived by the
strength of God. life of devotion to
duty, Il life of love to brother man.
And this is Christianity, and it can be
nothing elsc-living your daily life at
the call of duty in allegiance to the
Lordship of Jesus, with Il personal
consciousness of God rs a Father and
fellow man as brother.
a day came to Christianity when it
meant more than this. Thc day of in
quiry came, when Christianity was
brought into conflict with other cults,
ana then Christianity got itself Il creed.
The day of systematic :vangelzation
came, when Christianity had lost her
first leaders and had to make new ones
out Of the raw matcra! found among
the new converts, and then Christianity
got itself energy and organized itself
into the church. But first and funda-
mentally was what its Founder left it,
and what its pathtindcrS made it-a
way of living the daily life in allegiance
to the Lordship of the risen Christ.
with a personal consciousness of God
rs Father and ones fellows as
brothers. And this is he first and
fundamental way in which Christianity
must be presented to and embraced by
every real life, If it is TO )e Il real and
vital religion. 1t must be- first Of all,
just Il way of living the daily life.
a man begins to have it and con-
tinucS to be Il posSesSor If it when, in
his home. in the street car, in the hotel
and shop and Legislative chamber he
makes himself the subject of Jesus
and feels himself to be the son of
God and the brother of every last fell
low mortal who has IL claim on what
God has given him of health. wealth,
education, friendship and spiritual life.
To c"cry man who lives in this way
there may come Il creed. There comes
Il time 10 every mHn when he inquiries
of the solemn face of life, and God
and Christ what they are. And the
answer which comes to his own inmost
soul through his personal experience
will bc this mans creed. And to every
earnest soul who lives in the way there
will come a church. AS he seeks the
conditions of his own best way of
living, rs he reaches out to help his
brothers in their pilgrimage. he will
discover that there is power in asso-
ciation a dynamic in organized fellow
ship and thus he will rejoice in the
glorious company and will enter into
operative fellowship with all who own
the risen Lord.
But with all the creed and in all the
community with other believers. re-
ligion will still be this and this only
living ones daily life of common duty
with Jesus as Il Master, with God rs Il
L dlII'l 'lilti W llI IL 'tN 'l'iltlS' nv
creed and the church will be the out
ward expression and tools Of the thing.
but not the thing itself. The man who
lives in the way will see how n man
may be able to give assent to the CrcedS
of ChristendOm and yet be out of the
way. He will realize that man may
be baptized into the faith of Rome,
or confirmed in the Episcopal denom-
ination. or received into the Presby-
terian church. and vet be forewandered
from Christ. And he will discover
how. though 4 man be unable to sub
scribe to any formula of faith. and
though he be disalowed the privileges
of church membership, if he followed
il the way, if he live his daily life
with Jesus IS a Master, God as his
Father and llen as his brethren. he is
sill friend of the risen Lord.
What j. a Christian? A man who
doth the same things as other good
men, but with different motive, a diff
ferent method, a different aim. The
motive is devotement to Christ. The
method is by the strength of the i'm
nancnt God. The aim is for the love
of brother man.