The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-02-03

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all your wasted labor upon nineteen
young men who were not savedg God
Will not reward you according to the
success Of your labors. but according
to the efforts you have honestly made.
whether they have succeeded or failed.
Do your duty and leave the result to
God.
oh, missionary worker I'm the New
York slums. what is the good Of your
rescue missions and your testimony
meetings night after night7 You know
Just as well as know that nine tenths
Of all your professed converts will be-
come backsliders. That young woman
who now arises with tears in her eyes
and says, Thank God, | have been
saved from SIM" may tomorrow be
treading again the old path Of wicked
ness. That man who signs the pledge
tonight may be drunk again next week.
That penitent gambler IS only penltent
until you give him a start In life again,
and then be will gamble away his sub
stance just the same as he has done I'm
the past. Mrs. Maud Ballington Booth
lately wrote a book entitled After
Prison, What" After prison for most
ex-convicts is prison again. Two-thirds
Of the inmates of the penitentiary serve
more than one term each Once thief
Tor many Of them is always a thief.
"All that you state is true" answers
the missionary Of the New York slums.
"One-thlrd, one-half aye, perhaps
three-fourths-of all our reformed cases
may become backsliders. But IL one
)ut Of every four-aye. II one out Of
every ten-be saved. is not the tenth
man worth all the effort we have be-
slowed on the other miner All the seed
the farmer plants does not fall on good
soil. Shall the farmer cease TO plantf
All our labors for Christ may not bring
In gospel harvest but are not the re-
wards we receive multipotent bless
Ing for our labOrs. no matter how great
they may beT' The New York mission
ary is right.
Yes" some one says. that is very
pretty talk, but It does not bear well
the test Of logic If while | SOW one
good seed nine other men are sowing
tares, will not the nine tares increase
Just as rapidly as the one good seed?
In time will not the earth. instead Of
being covered with the glory Of God as
the waters cover the sea- be covered
with the blood OF a destroyed world?
Instead Of the world being better. as
we would wish, is it not morally and
spiritually becoming more and more
depravedl Have not a right. then. to
my new year timiditles?" No. my
brother! No, no. A thousand times
no! The reports Of the gospel meteoro-
ogists do not bear out your theories.
Meteorology is as rational a science
as chemistry, geology, biology, physics
or any other science. Like a skillful |
general, the United States government
guarding against Surprise. has organ |
lied its weather bureau and planted |
outpost stations everywhere. All these
stations are I'm direct communication |
with each other and with Washington. |
Thus no sooner does a storm start out |
on its mission of destruction than the |
weather bureau lifts its signals of |
warning. The sailors run TO cover and |
fruit growers hold back their ship
ments, and railroad officials get out |
their snow plows and anticipate the at
tacks Of the storm. So perfect is this
system Of signals that for the last ten
years not a ship has ever been lost
upon the dangerous inland sea OF Lake
Michigan whose captains have needed
these storm signals. Millions and bill
ions Of dollars worth Of property have
been saved both on land and sea.
What the superintendent Of the
weather bureau can do in reading the
positions Of the atmospheric storm
,louds the gospel meteorelogist can do
N telling us about the storm clouds Of
lin What is it we learn from these
Christian meteorological reports? From
me and another heather land comes
he story Of people turning from idols
% serve the living God. Everywhere
llavery and cruelty and inhumanity
Ire being gradually suppressed The
world is coming more and more under
he influence OF the principles of
christ. 1t is slow process, but the
General trend is In the right direction.
Evil for thousands OF years has had its
way. We must not expect it to be
asily or quickly dislodged. But the
,ood time is coming. Only do not let
IS who live in Christian lands lose
cart or hope. We have the promise Of
ictory; we see the sky growing rosy
With the coming dawn. Let US work
n in faith and patience Oh, my
rother, think not this New Years day
pens a dark day" for Christ Think
ot that your labors for the coming
ear will be thrown away. Push on I'm
aith and hope. Drive up. Look up, in
be name Of Jesus Plant in Gods
anne; plant for Jesus Christi