Milford chronicle., 1905-11-24
The New Love Versus the old.

The New Love Versus the Old.
But there are always some people
who think ,ASy cannot prove their love
for the new minister unless they tell
him all the faults of the old. No sooner
is the new minister installed than these
false friends gather around him. "Ah, ;"
they will say, Il am so glad you are to
be our pastor. We have needed you for
the last five years. This is the age Of
young men. Our old pastor was too
old. He was worn out. He has been
dead for the last twenty years and
was not conscious Of the fact The
young people did not like him. And
then his wife was an invalid. Oh,
am glad you have not a sick wife.
Then our old pastors children wanted
all the offices. His daughter was the
head of our Christian EndeavOr soci-
ETY., and his son was usher in the chief
aisle, and his sister was the head Of
our primary department. But every
thing now is going to be different. We
have you, and all will be we'll" Yes;
things will be different, but only in
name. Young men, you who are about
to enter the Christian ministry, always
fight shy of the church members who
would try to praise you at the expense
of the noble men of God who gave the
best Of their lives to your pulpit before
you came to it, If they are untrue to
your predecessors, they will be I'M
true to you. l always have my sus-
picions of the man who, to show his
love and devotion to his second wife,
has to spend most of his honeymoon in
planting Canada thistles and poison
ivy upon the grave Of his first.
Would that some people who find so
much fault with their old pastors might
receive the rebuke which a minister
gave to his daughter who was criti-
cising an absent friend! The daughter
was saying her friend was "Odd' and
peculiar" YES" answered the old
father, "she certainly is odd and pc
culiar She is so odd and peculiar that
she was never heard to speak i'll of an
absent friend" I like that. We can
not be untrue to our absent friends and
at the same time true to those who are
by our side. We cannot be untrue to
our pastors who are gone and true to
those who are now preaching in our
pulpits.
But there is yet another criterion by
which you can judge a minister's best
friends. They are to be numbered
among those who do not love their
church so much that they are blinded
to the gospel duties which are calling
them outside of the four walls of that
church. They are the Christians who
realize that as there is one family liv-
ing within the four walls Of the home
so there is a church family living with
in the four walls Of the church. They
strive to fulfill their obligations not on
ly to their own family and the church
family, but to those outside who do not
vet know Christ. The church family
is a very important family. but it does
not represent the whole human race.
Now, as every father and mother must
help care for the wants of their indi-
gent neighbors, so every church family
should and must care for the spiritual
wants OF the great uedlueH OutSlue
world. Therefore the church member
who simply says Let us care for our
own church, for our own pulpit and
pew and Sunday school" is not true
Christian. The true church member is
the one who has the missionary spirit
and who realizes his duty to China and
Africa and Persia and India as well
as to his own city and neighborhood.
Yet it is at this vital missionary point
that so many Of our would be minis
ter's best friends fail.
An Eastern Parable.
It is only by our spiritual scattering
that we can gather in, and it is only
by laying down our lives that we can
save them. An old eastern parable
goes thus: A merchant was about to
90 into far country He gave to two
friends couple of sacks Of wheat
apiece. He said, "Take care Of these
for me until I return" Years passed,
and the merchant returned. He said