Milford chronicle., 1905-03-17


and severe. But will you blame then
for that? 1t was their love for yOu
that was their fault. How have you re
paid that love? Return. beseech you
and beg their forgiveness.
Backs Too Weak For Burdens.
But there is another reason why we
sympathlze with broken hearted par
ents who are bearing the heavy bur
dens of wayward and sinful children.
Those burdens are placed upon backs
/ too weak to carry them and upon
hearts when they are too tender to
suffer 1t makes a great deal Of differ
ence how a man can bear burden,
whether he is old or young, sick or
well, tottering or straight limbed. You
would not hitch an old horse up to a
load he could easily have drawn in his
prime. Neither, foolish son, should you
make your parents in their old age
bear the burdens of your sins.
How old are your parents? "Oh,"
you say, father is about sixty years
of age. and mother is about the same"
You know when our parents married
they did not do as do many people Of
the present day. They did not wait
until they had amassed a fortune.
Then the daughters were ready to start
with the sons at the bottom of the lad
der to climb up. Therefore they mar
ried when they were young. Once
young together, now they have grown
old together" And then your lip quiv-
ers as you say: But mother is not as
strong as she used to be, and that old
pain has come back in fathers heart.
He had a fainting spell last week"
All, yes, they are growing old together!
Perhaps one of them is already gone.
Is it not a mean act, an awfully mean
act, on your part to take broken
down woman or an old broken down
man and place upon them the burden
of your unpardOned sins? They once
carried you in their arms; now you
ought to be willing to let them lean
upon your arm. They once wiped
away your tears; now you should be
willing to wipe away theirs. They
once lived and are still living to make
you happy: now you ought to strive to
make their last days happy. Do not
put that heavy burden of your wicked
ness upon their hearts. They are too
old to bear it.
"But." some one says, "my old father
and mother are not entirely dependent
upon me for their happiness. am not
the only child. As my parents are old
fashioned folks, so they had an old
fashioned family. Their family was
a big one. l have four brothers and !
three sisters, and, with the exception |
Of one brother, we are all alive today |.
and have families Of our own. Two |
Of my brothers are gospel ministers.
| am the only black sheep in the fam
Ily Thus you need not worry about |
the old folks. Five children out Of |
six who are Christians is not such a |
bad record" All, my brother, when |
you speak like that, even though you |
are married, I know you have not yet |
the depth of your mothers |
and fathers love. The true Christian |
parents happiness is dependent not |
upon the Christian lives of few, but |
Of all their children. No matter how
many children a Christian mother has,
she is never happy unless all are in the
gospel fold. She win never be happy
f one fingers outside. You remember
The oil story of how a rich man want
I'd TO adopt one Of the children Of a
argc family belonging to German
leasant. The rich man said to the IA
her. Il viii take any child you Sc
ect" That night while all the chill
iren were asleep the father and the
mother went from bed to bed to make
heir choice Not this one" said they;
not that one;" mot the other one"
30 theY went through all the rooms.
~hougl they had many children, they
.0uld not let one Of them 60 So, my
friends, though you may have brothers
who are Christians and sisters who are
Christians, that is not enough for that
I'D gray haired father and mother.
they want all their children to be
Christians Will you not leave the
rocked path Of sin today to make
hem happy? Your sins, your unpar-
loned sins, are pressing heavily upon
heir hearts.
"Oh," says some one, "would that l
.ould do as you ask! I would do any
hing on earth il 1 could only lift the
burden of my sins, which l compelled
ny dear old father and mother to car
Y, but it is too late-it is, alas, too
atel They are now forever past car
wing the burden Of my sins. My IA
her died as did the father Of the
scotch poet. On his sickbed he was