Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-01-20

aN~r H. a'Nhl you uIu
through your" Christian disciples, does
II not occur TO YOU that you are as moth
Ing and will continue to be as nothing
as n divine light unless Christ's light Is
In you and shines through you? We
must have a divine fame burning with
IN US before we cNn De divine light to
a sinful and dyipS world.
But. though the divine flame within
Us is absolutely essential for the send
ing forth OF a divine light out OF our
lives. how many OF Christs professed
disciples neglect hnparting the holy
fires within themselves which are al
ways burning at Gods mercy seati In
one OF the beathen temples OF the east
saw fire which. the priest told me.
had been in existence hundreds of
years. Those priests never allow that
fire to go out. Have we always kept
the divine flame burning within us?
BY diligent and unceasing prayer, by
continual reading OF Gods word, by
holy communications with Gods saints,
by pure. gentle. true. forgiving spirit,
have we always fed the necessary fuel
to the fires OF our spiritual life? Like
Enoch. have we been continually walk
Ing hand In hand with God? Do not
think for one instant that you can Inn
pose upon the world an earthly flame
as heavenly light.
Music For Music's sake.
A musician told me recently that she
could intuitlvely feel when she was
playing whether or not the members OF
her audience loved music. IL there
N~fo
teen We're merely pretending TO be low
ers of harmony, she would play over the
heads OF those nineteen TO the twenth
eth. who loved music for muslc,s sake.
So In your life God knows whether
your light Is a divine flame, and man
also intuitively can separate the earth
~ light from the divine. oh, so called
Christian disciples, before you attempt
to lead others TO the cross get the d.
vine fires burning within you at the al
tars OF your own hearxsi Be not like
the five foolish virgins with lamps, but
with no divine oil for their lamps.
Pray. pray, prayi Plead, plead, plead
at the affairs OF mercy for this light
he only can make the spiritual fires
burn within you.
When the divine fires begin to burn
within Us, what hsppens7 Their infiu-
ence exerts Itself ali around us. Their
power Is felt by the people with whom
we come In contact. Their quickenIng
rays fall on fields that we know not
OF and nourish and develop seed that
may have been carried from remote
sources. Many years ago Mr.. Beecher,
homesick and lonely, was wandering
through an Alpine village. where. to his
surprise. be found some of the Ameri-
can flowers growing In the gardens of
the Swiss hamlcts far from their ma
| tive soil. When our gospel light be-
gins TO shine 1t will develop spiritual
plants In fields or rocky soil and In
mountain ravines. far from the places
we ever expect to find them.
Spiritual Light Needed.
Did you ever stop to think that spir-
itual seeds are n great deal like the
common seeds we plant in our gardens I
Their development depends not more
upon the soil than the sunbeams which
kiss them "What IS the matter with
my gardenr' ask a neighbor. 81 have
bought exactly the same kind OF seed
as you 1 have faithfully watered the
| ground every morning and evening. ]
have dug out all my weeds as soon as
they poked their green heads above the
surface OF the earth. Yet here am !
with n few struggling plants looking
for all the world as though they were
| dying from fatal attack of typhoid
| in hospital OF flowers while you
have roses galore and great, sturdy TO
raj beauties that are scattering their
| incense every WHITTIER" "Ah," answers
my neighbor. you have starved your
| plants for light. You have not given
them the suns rays. Make your garden
not under the shadow OF n wall. Dig II
In place where the first sunbea m
which dances over the eastern hills can
play hide and seek among your roses.
Give them sunlight! Flowers. ike veg.
etablcs and harvest fields, must have
light They must have lightr' All men
have their spiritual seeds within them.
even the lowest OF social outcasts.
These seeds may be developed. But
what they need is spiritual light. II
You are the light OF the world, II may
be your privilege by the grace OF God
TO quicken them into life. They are
dormant now. but when the light Inn
planted In your soul shines upon them
they may awake into vigorous life and
bear fruit to the glory OF God. What
sinfui man needs is gospel light, divine
light. spiritual light
IL this deduction Is true, I would be
careful how your spiritual light touches
that druni<ard OF that beggar or that
woman with q faded shawl who goes
down under the gaslight i would be
careful how you speak to that man
who cheats you In business and has
lied about you. The ancient Romans
had n custen OF placing a lighted lamp
In the collins OF their dead. During
the pontihcate Of Paul III, when the
eoffiH was dug mp containing the body
OF Tuiiia. the slaughter OF Cicero. the
famous orator. such a lamp WINS found
among her bones. II was a strange
Idea to give, the dead light on their
path beyond the grave. Better far Is
the Christian hope that the divine
light kindied during life In their souls.
VIII shed its rays on their path to the
heavenly haven. "
"A GufAinx Beacon.
Our divine light Is a quickening ana
transforming light 1t is also a guild
Ing light 1t not only calls into spir-
itual activity those human seeds buried
In the Quagmirss or sin; it guides to
Christ those wandering souls which.
like q mariner who has lost his reck-
oning. -are drifting toward the rocks Of
destruction. How many a weary soul
tossed In the storm. with hope and
courage falling. may find strength and
spirit revive ms IL sees the divine light
kindled by the grace OF God in your
soal shining out clear and true, as the
sailor Is eheered ~ the sight OF the
Diamond sheal Hight. whsch signals year
in and year ont fifteen miles to sea-
ward or Cape Hatteras. or the Cape
Charles light burns upon the water
front OF old Virginia. or the Hog island
shoal lighthouse burns OF Rhode Is