The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-28

heen pure? Have we never sinned? Are we not shining now2 Oh, my Lord and my God if thou canst save us, the chlel of sinners, canst thou not save even the lowest and the vilest with whom we come in contact in our daily life? Yes, even the lowest and the vilest the Lord Jesus can save Cast thy bread upon the wa ters, for thou shalt find It a1ter many days
 But the next unpromising field for gospel seed planting to which my mind turns naturally is the bitter hearts of the per sons who for years and years nave been identified with Christian work, whose la bors were unappreciated by their con temporaries and who have ben cast out or, rather, frozen out, of the churches with which they were identified. Some or these men and women now are among the most bitter of all enemies of the churches. There are hundreds and thousands or men and women who despise the church or God because some Christian friend or some church has proved false to them. FOE years they gave their time, their money, their whole soul to church work. They used to be at every prayer meeting, every Sunday school gathering and every sun day service. But in that church pefhaps there was some man or woman Wno wished to be an ecclesiastical boss. 50 by fair or unfair manipulations he caused these people to De NOleu Oul OI bhN gun day school superintendency or the presi- dential chair of the Ladies' Aid society, or from a seat in the session or the trustee board, or he may have made an unjust charge against those people, claiming that they dishonesty used the church moneys. What has been the result? They nave not only left their official positions, but they have left the church, and they have never gone back again Into church work or church service. They ,despise the church of God, which they once loved, be- cause some man or body of men has been unappreciative of their loyalty and self sacrifice. Now, my friends, 1t Is your duty and my duty to go after these delinquent church members. We must go after them We must harness them up to the gospel chariot again and get them to pull know 1t will be hard work to bring them back I know 1t is an unpromlsing field for gospel seed planting, but If we go forth in the right spirit, with the right gospel seed, we can get harvest even in this unpromising soil. Remember the words of my text, Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days"
 Not as Bad as We Think.
 But, though that unpromising field may appear utterly useless to some of us for gospel seed planting, it is not as bad as
 
 tastes the joys of gospel work and of Christian fellowship, he is never happy without it. There Is an old proverb that If the traveller once drinks of the Pierian spring of old Italy he will always go back there and drink again. The waters are so sweet and pure that he never ceases until his dying day to long to drink of them again. So is 1t with Christian la bor. When a Sunday school teacher has once felt the joy of leading little children to Christ he can never stifie in his heart the desire to again bring other little chii- dren to Christ Aln ost every little one he meets seems to be lifting up her hands and saying: Wont you please show nc the way to Chrst?' Wher the Christian worker has once felt the thrill of a gospel revival in which he has labored all world ly joys are insipid in comparison. You may think that those backsliding Chris tians who never go to church now are happy at their card parties and in their Sabbath dissertations and in their dance halls, but they are not. As in your old age you look back with longing eyes to the sweet memories of your childhood hours, so they are looking back with longing eyes to the happy days when they used to labor in Christ's vineyard. Be- cause the old farm where you were born