The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-04-25

lne sinner, ana Keeps Deauttful Dai-
ance between severity and tenderness.
Our human nature. even Mt its best
can hold nothing settled. The scales
are always slipping off the balance.
The finite nature seems to exhaust IT.
self in success m any one line OF hu-
man achievement But this balance OF
the character of Jesus is never dis
turbed nor needs readiustment In
Him the diverse prophecies of the Old
Testament unite. In one place He is
described as 20 root ont of dry
ground" in another rs "the living
branch:' as "despsed and rejected
Of men, IN one passage and rs 1.-THE
desire of all nations" IN another In
His character lie combines the char
acteristicS of moral excellence.
Think also OF the universaity Of the
character OF Jesus. No nation or race,
no time or sect can claim Him as its
own. While Hebrew, yet there does
not seem TO be any particular Hebrew,
or even Oriental. Characteristic about
Him. And this is the more remark
abb. If we remember that the Jews
there have been no other such people
in the world-have kept the mood Of
mind. the passive disposition through
AAA EfAANl tAAANHNs anu AhNe AANt hbNtht
like the gulf stream. through the ocean
yet unaffected by It, They have been
more eternal than the Eternal City"
itself Ine race remains as when
Pompey led their captive fathers to the
imperial city. 2000 years ago. Cut IF
this unmi1gling race there emerges
Jesus. the cosmopolitan. the man of
the whole world. We cannot seem to
account for Elm or bring Him into line
with His predecessors. In all centuries
He has been recognized Is the type Of
human virtue. Socrates would not be
considered an exemplary man t. day.
nor Marcus Aurelius. \ good mahy
ssirts have been canonized tlat ought
tt have been cannonaded. Jesus Christ
was what He always called Himself,
1.-The Son of Man" as If ia Kim hu
manity was complete.
Again, think of the uniqueness Of
Jesus in HIS teaching. Plato has been
a doli-ant influence in the world. by
comparing school with school lie be-
ca ne one of the most learned men. Not
so with Jesus. II "a did not sit at the
feet Of any Jewish rabbi. He was only
q carpenters son in a rural district.
How knoweth this man letters. hav-
ing never learnedt" was asked. He as
sociated with tlose who Were His mas
ttrs in learning. and yet conf uud ID
them. Erudite lawyers and 'harisees
iCiLed to catch Him. and yet He al
ways answered them ediately and
never asked fer time to consider. His
replies were in terms so explicit that
Els teachings have settled casuis,ry
for 1000 years. No man has ever been
able TO add a single io.a to the moral
and spiritual truth He taught
once more think of the uuiGueness Of
His character in regard TO lis mighty
works, and His manner Of ding them.
he never ascends to His work but
always descends. His efforts are with
out labOriousness or strain. rs if rather
n relaxation, unlike other nen when
engaged in a great performance. He
never prepared Himself for a miracle
or studied the laws Of dylamics or
force. In the first chapter of Genesis
it is written. ICED said. Let there he
light" That seems to Indicate the way
in which Jesus performed His n ira
cles. He acted as If He were accus-
toned to doing them. as if they were
spangles on the regalia Of a king. The
disciples rejoiced that "the devils were
subject to them, and He told them
rather to rejoice that their names were
written in heayeb,' That is the best
thing.
So we come back TO the question,
"What think We of Christ? Whose Son
is He?" What answer are we going
TO make? We have got to answer; no
man cal escape it. That personal
query sands dominant and persistent
in front of every man alive: the one
great interrogation point facing every
generation and every individual. We
know answers that have been given:
That He was the natural product OF
the outgrOwth of the ages; the flower
cf the preceding ages. the proceed of
the force long held in solution. That
is the explanation with which evolu-
tiou accounts for Jesus Christ. Then
why does not evolution produce an
other Jesus. or something like Him?
Some say He was n literary product.
the ideal of inventive minds Renau
tells us the gospels are the supreme ro-
mances of the world. My friends. 1t
wcu.d seem to be as credible that a
Zulu composed Paradise Lost as that
this superb, marvellous character
should be simply the weaving of hui
man brains. That Interrogation point
still stands: "What think We of Christ? 2"