The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-04-12
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Coda Invitation.

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Gods Invitation.
The mercy Of God is free, but it ~
not cheap. The greatest Of heresies 1a
to deny Gods will to save, but next tc
it is that other heresy which asserts
that sin is no anront or trouble to God
and involves no cost to Him or to the
man whom He forgives. The careless
easy-going, morally Indifferent deity OF
some mems thoughts Ia neither the JeS
hovah of the Old Covenant nor the
Heavenly Father Of the New. The
death Of Christ is both Gods protest
against sin and His proof OF will to
save the sinner, says Congregationalist
When God invites there are no limits
to His wish to help. The prophet
rightly interprets Gods thoughts when
he Uses the most inclusive of all pro-
nouns, "Ho, every one" Yet in the
nature Of the case there is a limit on
our side in our desire. Water and
bread are for the thirsty and hunger.
ing; the invitation Is for those who feel
a hearts desire for what God gives.
Even God cannot help the self-satsfed
except by destroying their self-satis-
faction that they may seek His help.
Christ both enlarged His mission and
stated its necessary limitations when
He said: Il am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance"
The scribes and the pharisees would
never have enlarged the borders OF
Gods mercy to include sinners they
-despised. And here is n of the ironieg
Of Christ, in speaking OF the right
eous" to men in whose idolized Scrip
lures was the, Ordinance and record OF
q continual sin-offering and whose
ritual worship eliminated in aiday OF
atonement for the sins Of all the peo-
pie.
Gods invitation pledges satisfaction
to our hunger and thirst. Jesus re-
newed the promise in like terms.
BLESSED are they that hunger and
thirst after righteousness, for they
shall be filed" What the final satis1
faction Of the soul in righteousness
may be we cannot know; in the mean
time we, must take Gods promise i'm
the terms Of the image He Himself
has chosen. There is food for every
hunger. There is water for every
thirst. How often did Christ say: SAC
cording to your faith, belt unto you
He who desires, to be pure, shall be-
pure. He who longs to be honest, shall
be true. He who follows after love,
shall be loving. Ours is an eyertpres-
ent, ever-helpful God from Whom the
renewal Of our desires from day to day
obtains continually renewed provision.
Through this renewal of Our daily
need and the experience of Gods o
tinual provision comes hearts rest.
We do not find our satisfaction be-
cause we have become like God
through independence Of all changes
in our life, but because We trust in
Him and He sustains us. Gods invi-
tation' does not sever Us from God, it
makes us consciously His loving n
cooperating children. We can never
be independent Of His sustaining care;
but faith and love make our depend
ence joyful. Work is transformed and
patience gloriied. For it is TO the
laboring and the heayyiaden that
Christ offers rest Of heart.
Saved to Serve.
A wonderful work has grown up In
a Liverpool factory entirely as the
result of one mans conversion during
the Torrey-Alexander meetings Of last
year. One Of the employees at the
factory was a drunken fiddler, gambler
and dancer named Thomas johnson,
He would frequently spend entire
nights in drunken carousals, and was
considered a hopeless wreck by his
friends. One day a workshop comrade
invited him to go to the meetings. he
went, was gloriously converted; and
was filed with such ecstacy that he
could hardly stand upright upon his
feet. Three days later he and his
comrade brought two Alexander hymn
books and, with three others, went
into a small room of the factory and
held a song-service, followed by al
brief prayer-meeting. Other men in
the factory heard the singing, and at
the next meeting on the following day
eight We're present. Day by day the
meetings increased until half q huns
dred were regularly attending them.
They formed themselves into a chorus
and an orchestra, with the former
drunken fiddler as the leader. and be-
gan to get out and conduct services in
numerous missions, chapels, and
churches throughout Liverpool. Won
derful blessing attended their efforts,
and scores have been led to Christ
through them. For q year daily meet
ings have been held at the factory.
When this happened the third time,
I asked the young woman what 1t was
that caused her to decide for Christ.
She said:
1T is this way. I have been saying
to myself for several years that, II
could ever see a family that lived in
the Christian spirit, l would become a
Christian. Well, l came to this place.
and from the first thing in the morning
till the last thing at night, in the con-
duct of the husband and wife toward
each other, in the relation of the daugh1
tiers to- their parents, and in ting
relation of each of them to me there
was about it all something so kind, SO
considerate. and so Christian that
felt that I must 60 pack on my prom
Use to myself or at once become
Christian"
That is the kind of Christian testi
mony I like to see.
The Inevitable Christ.
One person we cannot avoid-the in
.r;+,bIo Christ. ono dilemma We mus