Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-03-23


subject, declare that good name Is
the most glorious Of all inheritanccs
which man can leave TO his children.
1t means more, infinitely more than
gold. 1t means more than fame more
than social position, more than landed
estate. 1t means more than anything
else on earth that you can give. Most
Of us want to leave our children the
best we can. We must not forget to
give them this treasure, which IS Of
more value than great riches"
The Greatest 81 1nheritances.
How can parents financially poor
leave to their children the greatest of
inheritances? Let me explain more in
detail. The adjective good" comes
from the Substantive God" To b.
good" in the highest sense means to
be ''goodlilse' or like Christ" There.
fore, when father bequcaths to his
son good name he gives to him. in
the highest sense, a Christian example
well lived. He seems to step to his
boys side and put his hand in his boys
hand and say: MY son, want you to
come with me and kneel III prayer.
want you to come with me and learn
to read the promises of God in his
holy book. My son. when sinners entice
thee want to tell you where I have
found strength in the past to resist
temptations. And when sorrows come,
as come they will. I want you to leavn
where you can find God MS refuge
and strength" Side by side with their
children the Christian parents walk.
Side by side they go with them through
life. Long aecr the parents have pill
lowed their heads in the dust the men,
cries Of their good names or their
Christian examples live on to guide
their offspring Are you not going to
leave to your children the Inheritance
Of n good name or n Christian exam
pie. such an inheritance as that which
your fathers and mothers left to you7
II any young men and women need
to be held to the cross Of Christ by the
Christian example of parents life.
trusting in God and being with God.
those children Of yours need II. They
have exactly the same kind Of tempera-
mcnt that you have. They are high
strung. They are impulsive They
can be easily swept off their feet by
success and discouraged by defeat.
What are they going to do in 1.-The
swellings of the Jortan?' My brother,
even with all the advantages of the
Christian surroundings OF your boy
hood, still you have had u hard strug-
gle. What. then, are your children 60
ing to do when temptations assail
them: They have never seen their ia
thcr knecling in prayer or walking with
Christ. They have never thought that
you had divine succOrer. "A good
name as an Inheritance? Why, it is
simply priceless in value. Is not, for
yoIr children, n good name rather to
be chosen than great riches?
But. il our good names are essential
to our children after we are dead. how
much more essential are they for us
when we step out from this life into
the next. The heaviest money bag
that was ever secreted In the dark
vaults of the rich man who despised
the poor Lazarus grOveling on his pal
ace steps cannot he carried by him or
his friend one single inch beyond his
grave. DO you not think it an absurd
thing for rich man to struggle and
to keep OH struggling for something he
cannot keep over few years at best?
This money may and in all probability
will do his children a damage after he
Is gone. 1t Is an old saying that
"shrouds have no pockets" yet many
men seem to live as though their
shrouds would be different from all
other shrouds or that they would live
on forever and never have shroud.
Death IL Sure.
But. though death may postpone Its
coming, death will surely come. Now,
my friends. what are you going to do
for your open sesame of heaven?
grant that your name may be very
important one on earth. How impor-
tant it is but few Of lis. even the hum
blest, realize. We are all Americans.
To be American means we belong to
the most honored nation on earth.
Many years ago two travel stained
Americans allghted from the railroad
train in the French capital. No sooner
had we registered at the hotel than
we heard that a great statue was to be
unveiled that afternoon, at which some
of the greatest orators Of France were
to speak. At once we headed toward
the place Of the ceremonies. The
streets were blocked with the crowds.
The police We're pushing the people to
the right and to the left. We had no
friends there and no one to assist us.
At first. nOnplused, we were about to
go back to the hotel Then a happy
thought struck me. l went up to one
Of the guards and spoke a single mag
ic word, Americans" At that word
way was made for us. We were asked
down the lines and upon the platform
and We're given two of the best seats.
All. the word america" is a magic
word in European lands! But. when
we take that last voyage and pass over
the sea Of eternity. think you that any
national name or any family name or
any earthly name will open to us the
gates Of heaven? oh, no! We must
have royal blood IN our veins. We
must bear the family name Of the
King Of kings Or else we shall never
be allowed to enter heaven. We must
have good name" That means we
must be "godlike." We must be like
Christi. My friends. il l We're you,
vvnul1 not ooNtor INV hna ri and cOnl In