The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-05-05
FARMvILLE, VA, FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1905.

for thatl II was their love for you
that was their fault How have you re-
paid that love? Return, beseech you,
and beg their forgiveness.
But there Is another reason why we
sympathize 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 10
suffer. II makes a great deal Of differ
ence how man can bear a burden,
whether he is old or young, sick or
we'll. totterlng 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 parentsl "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 walt
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 "a
strong as she used to be. and that old
pain has come back in fathers heart.
He had fainting spell last week" "
All, yes. they are growing old tOgetherl
Perhaps one Of them is already gone.
Is il 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 sinsf 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 10 wipe away theirs. They
once lived ana are still living 10 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. 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
lily. Thus YOU need not worry about
the old folks. Five children out Of
six who are Christians il not such a
bad record" All. my brother. when
You speak like that. even though you
are married. | know you have not yet
fathomed 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 Christian mother has,
she is never happy unless all are in the
gospel fold. She will never be happy
II one fingers outside. You remember
the old story OF how a rich man want
ed TO adopt one Of the children Of a
large family belonging to German
peasant. The rich man said TO the IA
ther, Il will take any child you Sc
lect." That night while all the chill
dren were asleep the father and the
mother went from bed to bed TO make
their choice. "Not this one" said they;
mot that one" not the other one"
SO they went through all the rooms.
Though they had many children, they
could not let one Of them go. So. my
friends. though you may have brothers
who are Christians and sisters who are
Christians. that is not enough for that
OlQ RFdN udlifu luAufA hhN iupAiifis
They want all their children TO be
Christians. VIII you not leave the
crooked path Of sin today TO make
them happy? Your sins, your unpar-
doned sins, are pressing heavily upon
their hearts.
"Oh," says some one, "would that l
could do as you ask! would do any
thing on earth II / could only lift the
burden OF my sins, which compelled
my dear old father and mother to car
ry. but II Is too late-it Is, alas, too
latel They are now forever past car
rying the burden Of my sins.
Your father and mother beyond the
burden Of your snsi Friend, | do not
know about that Even in heaven |
think they are still longing and hop
Ing for our salvation. Wilt thou not
lift from them the. burden Of their
anxiety? Wit thou not enhance their
heavenly joys by the assurance that
thou art coming to complete the fam
lly circle around the thronef
Billions Bill was getting blOated,