Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1905-01-26

frequently said, disparagingfy, of Peters
renunciation of the world. and its good.
'|It was a little all that he left" and
Peter has been criticised, for himself, re-
with others, now made-Aa boat, few
nets, dirty and old, en- occupation espe-
ciallv laborious and in some features of it
repellant to men Of ordinary refinement"
was what he left, we are told. Well! per-
haps It was so; more likely ~, Il was other
much, Peter left it; left it instantly, utter :
ly and without regret. He transferred
himself in profoundest faith and Iiveliest
gratitude to Jesus Christ and His service
exclusively, forever. For Christ's sake,
the works sake, the worlds sake. he re-
nounccd his former life and ambitions, to
give himself and al! he bad unreservedlY
to Jesus Christ. And Christ welcomed,
applauded and has abundantly rewarded
the sacrifice. It is surrender not asked
Of every disciple, but in proportion as any
disciple approximates its spirit Of faith
and conservation, il that measure will he
realize his co-npletest spiritual fife. It is a
every disciple called to al exclusive min
istry; but only to the degree chat the min
lister of Christ can detach himself from the
world, and its spirit Of gain getting, will
his largest spiritual power and widest IT.
huence be realized. Here stands Peters
sake, upon the pages of scripture, summon
ing us all. from our vain seeking for ma
terial good as the all of life; and from our
disposition to keep what, we have gotten
as exclusively as our own. Christ,s disci-
pies belong to Christ, and all they have is
His: whether they arc called to use it all
in His more immediate service or not.
Let every servant of Jesus beware of los
irg his life il the effort to save and cher
ish it. 'eFor what is man prohted If he
sh;'1 shall J., gain the whole world and lost his
Surely the incentive to such sacrifices is
not wanting in the light of Peters subse-
ouent career. On that later day, when the
rich young ruler had gone away sorrowi1g
because he had great possessions, and was
therefore unwilling to make the. reuuncia.-
tion, which, in his case, Jesus had asked
to save him from the e.; cancer ie Of aysriee' Pi
after the Lord had discoursed little on
the deceitfulness and hindrance of riches
rnduly loved, said, @'Lo, we have left our
own and followed Thee" Whereupon
Jesus replied, "Verily I s:y. unto you,
there is no man that hath left house. or
wife. or brethren, or parents, or children.
not receive manifold more in this time
and in the world to come eternal life"
And has not that promise been abundant-
~ fulfilled in Peters case? One thinks
not so much OF the eternal distinction that
has come to him in the veneration of null
tudes who think of him as the foremost
apostle Of the church: nor of a memorial
to his name SO magnificent as that which
rears its lofty, graceful dome to the Ro-
man sky, but Of the .uafolded fulness of his
spiritual life as registered in his epistles;
Of the influence he has exerted upon men
from the Penteccst: onward: Of that pecu-
liar eff]uencc of help and cheer which he
ever has exhaled through his individual
need for painful discipline and his equally
| triumphant realization of purified and
ennobled character, grown strong and lux
,uriant out Of the very soil Of its many in
! frmities Surely the remuneration of ST.
mon Peter was not in vain either for him
self or for the world. What that little
life Of his might have remained to be, OF
deteriorated to become, in it's narrow Sy-
rian round, if he had refused the call of
Christ, who can adequately say? But the
imagined contrast between what he would
then have been and what he now is suf-
fees to move lis to the swift acceptance
of every proposal Christ makes to us. and
the speedy answer to every call of His for
ourselves and our service, at whatever
present cost that answer must be given.