The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-11-23

, THE night cometh when no man
can work John IX-4.
(Contributed)
We are here today and gone tomor'
, row. James says, For We are va.
pour, that appeareth for a little time
and then vanisheth away" Man is
like a mist that hangs for moment
over the field or the stream, and then
is gone forever. The most eloquent
tongue will soon be silent, the most
skillful hand nerveless, the warm,
large heart of the greatest philan-
thropist will soon cease to beat. We
have no time to lose in learning what
principles should guide and govern
us in the brief march of human life.
These find noble expression in the
following extract from Mr.. Bryan's
fourth of July speech in London:
And now we come to the most impor-
tant need of the orient-.a conception
of life which recognizes individual re-
sponsibility to God, teaches the broth
erhood of man, and measures great
ness by the service rendered. The
first establishes q national relation
between the creature and his Creator,
the second lays the foundation for
justice between man and his fellows,
and the third furnishes an ambition
large enough to fill each life with no
BILE effort"
This is a strong and pow
erful, and when properly understood,
a comprehensive statement of the
mission of Christian nations and of
the church. 1t is also a clear state |
ment of the eternal truths which |
should control and dominate each in
dividual life.
First of all, we have the thought of
individual responsibility to God. 1t
is said that once at dining Daniel
Webster stated That this was the
greatest thought that ever occupied
his mind. No one is so great that he
can ignore 1t, no one so small that he
can escape from it, The richness or
poverty of the heart is determined by
the extent to which the man meets or
disregards his responsibility to the
God who made and who redeemed him.
How many there are who so far as
Measure for Measure" live careless,
reckless and fearless of what's past,
present or to come" How many there
are who are desperately mortal" II
this generation could be made to real
lie that each individual owes debt
10 God that no other can pay, If this
could become a profound conviction,
/ great turning unto God and to right
eousness, in commercial, social and
political life would be a natural re-
,ult.
The second great truth mentioned
~ Mr.. Bryan is the brotherhood of
nan. This is the inevitable conse-
Iuence of the truth IF the fatherhood
# God. In whatever cline God has .
own the seed of life, men are His off
children. The more men II
ealize God to be their father, the
more they realize men to be their r.
To do wrong to a brother p
) mean and cruel, to withhold good "
rom him when we can bestow it, is is
elfish and unjust. Men, so far as they o.
now, can do nothing for the angels or
Or the inhabitants of other worlds. az
he only way we can serve God is to p'
erve humanity. "
Thus we come to the third great ai
ruth in the statement of the distin- 81
uished Nebraskan. Greatness is pi
leasured by the service rendered. He te
the greatest man who renders the Il
reatest service to humanity. He is
y no means the greatest who wins
lie highest position, enjoys the great
st pleasures, or builds the greatest n
,rtune. The greatness OF a service Is
ot determined by the success of that a
hich we undertake. A woman driv-
lg Through the street drops a ounoie
ON her carriage. A young man sees W
gains her attention and returns the W
indie. He has rendered important N
,rvice, he has saved the woman much 81
and trouble, but his W
Led did not call for self-sacTifice. 1t N
d not cost him much, at the same ~
me It was successful. A child of W
is woman is in a burning building. m
man goes at the risk of his life to NJ
scue the child, and blackened and *
orched he returns unsuccessful from N
s search to nnd that another man W
IS been successful. But he has rem
red far greater service than, the W
an who picked NJ the bundle. His ~
ed demanded more neroism and e. W
TT. The service we render Is meas m
ed by unseinshness and seif-sacri-