The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-05-06
The Great Attractlon.

"And I. II l be lifted up from the
earth Will draw all men unto me-
John Kill ~
To any, save the few in the group
of his friends, that statement must
have sounded like the rawlings of one
deluded. 1t has taken the centuries
to show that he was right. He was
right in his estimation of his life's
end; 1t was a lifting up. His enemies
thought it casting down, defeat;
he knew it to be a triumph. Sorrow,
Injustice, oppression, hatred, the
things that seem 10 crush are the
things that elevate. Only by opposi-
tion has any life discovered power.
The fiercer blow these winds the
frmer grows the tree. Out of the pet
ty prosecutions, the countless mean
nesses, the littleness OF those who OPP
pose him the great soul builds It's
greatness. It is, and ever has been
by cross that men are lifted up
History abounds with prisons, gibbets,
and crosses which have become
thrones of eternal glory.
whether we shall be cast down or
lifted up depends upon ourselves;
neither enemies nor adverse circum-
stances have the power to do this.
The soul that seeks the stars builds
its staircase out Of the stones flung
.bv the prosecutor out Of the rocks or
dificuIties. II your heart is great, my
brother. nothing can keep you from
greatness; If It Is mean, no amount
OF o'eryaulting ambition can make
YOU other than a little, obscure man,
as truly lost On the peak as you would
be at the base.
Jesus died failure; his friends
were few, and the best Of them
thought his life a mistake. 1t takes
more than the span Of our lives to
measure their size. It is better that
great soul should be called failure
than that It should die a shriveled
success. Earth measures by what the
hands hold; heaven by the heart. The
hands al last lose their grasp, but the
heart wealth goes on from more to
more. This II is that is worth while
Jesus was right when he said that
he would draw all men to him. Then
~ sounded like folly; to-day It demon
strates his divine insight. Lifted up
in shame the riches OF his life were
revealed. After all the best in US
answers to the best; it Is love that
leads. In the end. goodness, truth,
gentleness. sincerity have the greatest
attraction for men. Jesus Is known
and loved by millions who never
heard OF Nero or Of Augustus. Their
glory was that Of circumstance; his
that of character. His life lifts.
Inis it is that most helps the
wsrld: not learning. but life; not
power or position, but simple passion
for men: not riches, but wealth Of the
inner life You may not found uni
versity Or build Libraries or hospitals,
cr even write books or preach ser
mons. But every one may do the
principal thing that Jesus did. That
was to live life amongst men Of
love for them. CT simple kindnesses,
Of God seeking aspiration, Of white
sincerity. The race needs not so
much men who will shake It with
their power or dazzle it with their
learning as it needs men and women
who win lift it with the quiet earnest
ness and sincerity of their lives.
Herein is lasting greatness and true
power. to live as he lived, to love as
lie loved, true to God, to yourself,
and to your fellows, seeking the best
and giving Of your best
Service and sacrifice are the things
that lift to the supreme places; the
lower you stoop in helpfulness the
higher you arc lifted in lasting glory.
And they are lifted to heaven, they
achieve immortality. they can never
die who were willing to die if death
lay in the path Of duty. to be sacri-
feed If sacrifice was part of their
pa,.vicp -Chicaoo Tribune