Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-02-18


VICE. a disciple of Jesus Christ lives a
<fl<lstian life the deeper and wider does
thI river of his peace become. 1t
l&tld deepen and widen and grow
q ~ majestic in volume, even as the
~ 4<hrs of the Hudson grow deeper ana
xtk2Ir as they slip past the highlands
xX lap the feet of the Palisades ana
E<<fep on in their grandeur to the place
stkre they are married to the waters
offhe mighty deep at the nuptial altar
oftovernors island, in upper New York
ban 1t should go on growing deeper
and wider. even as become the waters
of nbe river OrinocO where they empty |
thetlselves into the unfathomaDle
derths of the sea. When, in il9S, |
Christopher Columbus for the first time
toukhed the mainland Of South Amerl-
ca<ind saw this great river, one OF ms
OTHERS congratulated him because he
had discovered another island. Inc
Immortal explorer replied: mo such
river as that flows from an island.
That mighty torrent drains the waters
Of a continent" The pleading river of
Gods peace grows wider and deeper as
we travel along its banks in the journey
of life. At the beginning Of our CHRIS
tian course it may seem small stream,
but as the years pass and our feet come
nearer and nearer to the great ocean OF
eternity the volume of the river IN
creases until it becomes a peace that
passeth understanding.
Is this increasing power true in ref
erence to our spiritual peace? AS you
compare your present life with that
Of your spiritual life ten, twenty, thlr-
ty years ago are you conscious that you
love God more now than you did them
DO you read the Bible more now than
Won did when you Joined the church
and prepared for your first commuh-
ion? Is your enjoyment Of prayer ana
yOur dependence upon it more intense
now than they were at first? Are you
striving more earnestly than formerly
to gather the showers of blessing that
are everywhere falling around you into
your own spiritual nature? Are you
more ready now than at the beginning
| of your Christian career to go into the
| house of a neighbOr on whom sickness
| or bereavement has fallen to admins
ter comfort and to cheer him with re-
minders of Gods promises? There Is
something awfully wrong with Chris
| tian who. while his wealth and mental
mower increase with the passing years,
finds that his spiritual nature does not
widen and deepen like the pleading
river Of Gods peace.
Not Like n River.
Indeed. | sometimes think that our
so called peace is not like a river at
all 1t is more like a brackish, stag
nant pool or as a dried up well that
.sxes forth no water. There was a
60 a well here. once" said an old
'o-ssn Fefereneeste n eerthia dfisslz-
ing trough. Indeed" answered a
preacher on his vacation, "is that so
wonder what is the matter with It.
How did it get filed up| Neglect
sir" answered the farmer. "tlrst d
little rubbish got in it, then a little
more and a little more and a Ittle
moro. The dirt and refuse were moi
cleared out. and the water grew worse
and worse and less and less until al
last the we'll became choked up.
wonder if there is any water at the
bottom of this well?" Yes" said the
nreacher. 81 wonder If there is any wa
fer at the bottom of the well!' Il
that the figure of our peace? Is 1t
we'll and not riverF
As the Mississippi river is fed by th'
Missouri. the Ohio, the Tennessee ah'
tbe Red rivers and indirectly by th'
Allegheny. the MOnOngahela, the 1ei
lowstone and the Platte, so from man!
sources might the river Of our peace re
ceive the waters of blessing, but III
stead we allow the dirt and refuse
this world to choke the passages D.
which they might enter and our rive
dwindles into a stagnant pool. Hav
we become dried up spiritual wells! n
the tourists dropping pebbles int
: Jacobs well have chOked it up, som
Of lis have choked up our gospel wells
Years ago we dropped the pebble o
Sabbath desecratiOn into it. Years az
In went another pebble-absence iron
{ Sunday school and church worship
e Years ago we took to reading tn
: Sunday newspapers instead of the B
Bile. No wonder that our peace, Whic
sbould pass all understanding and b
like a sriver widening and deepenin
\ each War, is like a brackish, stagnaI
pool oE dried up like Jacobs we'll
, it be rbt like river the fault Is oui
I and nd Gods. God is pouring dow
t upon rs everywhere his showers
t spiritual blessing, which we shoul
It gather freshet-like, into the river bee
h Of our 4 carts.
/ But HE pleading river not onl
S teachesLour relationship to God, bl
+ also of practical spiritual RELATIONSHIP
eA to ouffellow men. 1t clearly and en-
? pbatf Tally and distinctly says "Gosp
'eI AcXmust be eyes to the blind, foe
Fl M TIA hungry. clothing for the make
j aHi hPpy firesides for the homeless
y I}Iteatb bes man that the first great cor
le nSndn&nt is to love the Lord our &c
9kh al our soul and strength al
hind And the second is like unto
III mat love our neighbors as on
a &eH 1t is law Of our nature tn
ktd1snd happiness come to us tnroug
III XfsiH Heto others. No man Is so happ
~ Nh k&tfho has made another happ.
Re n pilIdgfsis so restful as that OF hi
I'd hd hdNEelieved the anxiety OF n
=, HbthefzfN1he peace that passeth unde
tel and 3qihter fills the heart that che
~ a he Z sal bit, ,lesires or turns away frol
ef Tb& BSsret of Happiness.