Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-11-03
SUNDAY SERMON

Great professions imply ability.
Credentials presupposeperformance
II is no test of a perfect machlne
To keep the belt on a loose pulley.
A horse that can trot In tWo-teh Is
ont of his class in a twO-forty race.
When a steamer is guaranteed TWEEN
tv knots an hour the government
will not accept it if on trial trip /
If can only make sixteen. Tall men
can reach higher than short men
and should be expected to do so.
1t Is preposterous to apply the same
rule to six-footer as to a man
only five feet four.
~
A conspicuous example of this
law will occur to all who have read
the New Testament. Ordinarily re-
formers heartily welcome to their
cause men of education and money
and influence and bold and COM
handing positions. Not so Jesus
Christ. He was so cautious and
exact1ng as to seem almost OPP
pressive. He made the gate straight
and the way narrow. A very
righteous young man came to him
with an eager inquiry and he pro-
posed test to him which sent him
away sorrowful because he could
not fulfill it. Why did he do that?
Simply because of what the young
man claimed. If he had really
done what he claimed to be eble TO
do the test was nothing remarkable
in its scope. Other people since
then have done it and have not
made title of his pretensions.
~
This young fellow claimed to be
the living embodiment of the Deca-
Iogue. He had absorbed the teach
ing of Sinai into his life and had
kept the Ten Commandments from
his youth up-to let him tell 1T. The
law was written on tables of stone
but here was table of flesh. How
could Christ resist a man who could
saw that he had perfectly kept the
Ten Commandments! According TO
his claims Christ and he were the
only two persons since the world
was created who had ever done so.
AS a matter OF fact the Lord was
more exacting with this young man
REQUIRED more of him than he did
of the publican or the adulteress or
the thief. Anything wrong about
that? Why shouldn't he. Accord
ing to his claim he was next 10
Christ himself-let him do one
thing more that Christ had done
and he would be his equal. Other
people brought nothing with them
but sln-he brought the Ten Com
mandments without wrinkle or a
stain. And yet when tested on one
single point-his pocketbook-he
collapsed. He wanted eternal life
much but he wanted his money
more. His bank account was real
heaven was visionary. A wealthy
disciple would have been to his
taste but poor disciple had no at
traction for him. After all self was
the strong hold of the young mans
life and when it came to show
down as to which had the greater
hold on him-the commandments
or the money the money had 1t.
Only he who reads all hearts would
have been able to see what the fataI
lack was but Christ put his tinger on
the sore at the first diagnosis.
~
No matter what the object OF
your ambition you must pay the
price or miss the goal. 1t is true OF
every kingdom that Is worth hav-
ing that the way into it is straight
and narrow. 1t is true of the king
dom of art. How many there are
who would like to become great
painters. How few realize their
ambition. Artists are not born
they are made by struggle and
quenchless zeal. The desire is born
but he who wins the prize does so
through self-denial, through awk-
ward attempts, through tears OF
modification, through jeers per-
haps and senseless mockery. through
absolute refusal TO yield to dlsap-
pointmert, through pressing on
while hundreds give up in despair
and fail to enter in. The master
pieces of art are TRANSPORTED souls
of the artists.
This is the way it is with the
kingdom of music. Who are the
men and women who sit on the
thrones of vocal and instrumental