Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1906-04-16

4 ASSOCIATION VIII Us. W nat is the use
of my carrying the Illustration any fur
! Their! Do you not see that where the
! average church work stops the Young
/ AIeu's Christian association work be.
I gins? With the long arm of loving
I tenderness it reaches out and encircles
/ that boys neck and heart 1t saws to
( him: Young man, come and speud
I your leisure hours with US. Come and
read. Come and play. Come and meet
pleasant companions, the same kind of
! Christian boys you used to meet in
YOU fathers home" And as sin becI,ons
. in one direction the young man in his
, lonely bedroom sees the Young Mems
Christian association beckonipg in the
other direction. say. thank tlel that
we have tits noble association as a
Z great Christian home fighting the
i temptations. of sin on their own ground
I But the purpose OF the I. NJ g. A.
I is greater than those we have already
/ described. 1t tries to bring Young men
! to Christ. It surrounds the young men
/ of a great city with the protecting in
! fuence Of u Christian home. It has
also an intellectual as well as q fun
loving atmosphere. No sooner does a
/ young man enter its walls than he is
/ inspired with a holy purpose of increas-
fEg his mental and physical capabilities
in order that be may increase his spirit
ual opportunities for doing good.
Developing Strength.
! Now, the oid idea OF the literal inter
probation of the text, open thy mouth
wide and l will fiji it," has long ceased
to be quoted. AS quaint Bible COM
/ mentator once said, IF a man does
nothing but open wide his mouth God
I viii fill it, but he will fill it simply with
wind" We know today, as common
sense men and women, that if we are
! to develop our spiritual powers we
must also develop cur mental and
physical strength. Though Paul sat at
/ the feet of Gama!iel, as soon as he was
( converted he went off to prepare him
/ self for his future Christian ministry.
In the first chapter Of Galatians we
] read, Neither went up to Jerusalem,
to them which were apostles before me,
{ but l went into Arabia" There in the
/ desert Paul stayed three long years
He was there studying and cOmmun-
ing with God before he came forth to
begin his mighty labors. Thus no
! sooner does a young man enter tt
, Young Mems Christian associate
walls than he breathes the atmosphere
/ of mental and physical as well as spir-
itual development. If he is anything
of a man at all he says to himself, 81
| want to make the most out of my body
and brain that l may be able to serve
my God better" Then the idea of en-
tering the association merely for play
ceases. The young man in the asso-
citation works to develop his brain, his
body and his spirit, as Paul went down
into Arabia and as Moses went forth to
tend the sheep and Elijah went into re-
tirement-to make themselves mightier
agents for the Divine Master to use.
Thus l hail the modern Young Mems
Christian association as a great Chris
tan university. A young man today
who wishes an education does not have
to go to college to get it. If he is COM
PEELED to enter business to earn his
daily bread when he is young, during
his evening hours he can enroll him
| self in this Christian university's
classes. There between the hours of
and 10 p. m. he can study all the COM
mon school branches. He can study
there the commercial branches. In ev-
cry we'll equipped association there are
night classes in typewriting shorthand.
i bookkeeping and business law. He can
master there all the higher English
studies, like rhetoric, English compo
sition and English literature. He can
learn there the Industrial sciences,
like electrical engineering or applied
electricity, mechanical and architecture
al and freehand drawing. And he can
sit there at the feet of French and
German and Spanish teachers and
learn to speak foreign tongues. A dear
friend of mine, who was a member of
the Chicago Young Mems Christian as
ISOLATION, said that when he was stu
dent there few years ago every night
there We're assembled in classes within
the walls of that association 800 stu
dents. Now, any movement which will
make it possible for the young man
WIZ uc-S uOl De0u dDlS W ~ " SOiteSC
1 to get that education after his work at
the store is finished is a movement
which ought to have your Endorsement
and mine. | thank God that thou
sands of young men are being better
fitted. for the struggles of life through
the influence of the night schools of the
Young Mems Christian association,
scattered all around the world.
A Life Work.
! But with the theoretical training for
! | lifes work found in the Young Mems
| Christian association work there goes
on side by side the practical, spiritual
training. Of course within the Young
, Mems Christian association wallis there
, are spiritual drones, just as there are
loafers and deadbaats in every human
beehive, but if a young man is ready
, to do his share of spiritual duty almost
as soon as he enters the association
walls he is set to work and that is