Milford chronicle., 1906-05-25

= When James A. Garfield was electe
T president Of the United States, one da
he said to his secretary of STATE
Blaine, all my life have been study
ing the theories Of government, bu
since 1 have been elected president il
stead of thinking about theories 1 hav
had to spend most of my time listening
to the pleas of candidates for office
Who is to be postmaster Of Springfield
or district attorney of Chicago or judge
Of Ohio has monopolzed all my atten
ton" So you say: 4 have not had
time to think whether Christ is super
natural or not or whether he can give
me supernatural power or not. l have
, been using up my time in service and
not in theories. l have been trying to
obey the voice Of God. who tells me to
visit the sick and feed the hungry and
be guide for the blind. I truly try to
live right l do all the good l can to
rs many people as l can in as many
different ways as I can. Therefore l
let hair splitting theological questions
alone Whether Christ is divine or not,
whether he can give to his disciples a
supernatural gift rarely enters my
mind. To tell the truth, 1 do but little
else than try to help my fellow men,
| and / guess God does not care much
what I think about Christ as long as 1
try to serve him as faithfully and ear
nestly as l can" All, my friends,
you are wrong. It does make a good |
deal of difference in reference to your |
gospel work what you think about |
Christ 1t may mean the difference be
tween the possible higher power and
the lower spiritual life.
Works without Faith.
"Faith without works is dead" But
without faith in the divinity Of Jesus
Christ and in his supernatural power
works in the sight of God are worse
than dead. The lack of faith in Christ
means that you are utterly devoid of
.he Christ power. This belief in Christ
Is the very foundation of the gospel.
What would you think of an architect
who takes you down to the seashore
md shows you a beautiful temple
which he has erected upon the sands?
~ ~ 10 N-At uAoAtI III uNoleu 4uE lAAA4Ao
ome shining through the most expen- ;
i've Of glass windows. The affairs are
ich with gold and beautiful tapestries.
The floors are exquisite mosaics. The
Ome is a perfect heaven of blue. What '
you'd you think if that architect, after Il
e had taken you through that building, s.
you'd reply to you when you asked: D
How are the foundations of this beau d
full structure? Are they strong and OF
'ue?" "Oh, did not put much work H.
4 the foundations. Instead Of digging III
lem deep and strong, where all the u
ork would be hidden from the eyes re
man, l simply builded these walls II
lon the surface. l expended all my M
lergies upon the superstructure" ~
hat would you think of a ship de- ~
gner who did not lay the keel Of his II
lip straight and true? Why, on the N
y Of the launching of that boat the u
III would turn turtle" or in the 90
st great storm at sea that boat would lil
to pieces or sink with all on board. ma
wv, it is not sufficient in the Chris Wa
n life for a man to say, II am all IL
sht because 1 have visited the sick les
d fed the hungry ana WD5 eyes to the NY
nd" It is not sufficient for the urcni- Ihs
It to say, Il am all right because 1 Ill
We worked hard and builded my su- pri
structure we'll" 1t is not rational sci
the ship designer to talk about set ola
q his masts before .be has Ioid bis not
Il well. The questions of the divin- nlg
Of Christ and the divine power of WI
rist are the most vital questions in sta
gospel life. 1t is foundation ques- Dee
4. This question precedes all other WI
sstions. Whom say We that ami"
us asked the disciples Of old Peter ID
iwered, "Thou art the Christ, the son tho
the living God" Do you answer poV
S? Do you believe thus? Do you be- dis
-e in the supernatural power of IeII
US as the disciples did when they ed
hered in Jerusalem to be endued The
h power from on high? resi-
hese disciples believed that Christ day
Id give his supernatural power to den
disciples If he would. They did froi
'e. They believed that Christ would higl
2 to them, as individuals, this super app
ural power, if they were only Obedi- hlgl
to his divine commands and tar gon
still in Jerusalem until they were line
ued with power from on high. upo
y, it is one fact to feel that Christ can
give to others his power if he Tia
lid or that he will give to me indi- you
lally his higher power if 1 am will Cod
to obey his commands and do as III
wishes me to do. Let me explain You
demarcation. long
why the Power Gam. muc
ut these disciples Of old did more this
l to simply believe that Christ Las
I'D give to them the higher power If cred
: would obey his commands. Dur sens
the days preceding Pentecost by lshe
yer, by suppllcation and by conse- Cnri
ion Of their full lives to God, they You
themselves into a proper condition your
eeeive this power Of the Holy Spirit. that
Y not emily threw themselves upon that
divine love, but they prayed and seeE
on praying something like this: me
God, cleanse me from sin! o God, tne
e me a clean vessel for the spirit at 9
o God, take all selfshness and anu
DneSa and world Iinao o,,f ~ INV Cdus