Albuquerque evening citizen., 1906-09-17
"A Religion That Needs Saving"
SERMON BY REV. soLLiE

81 will do it," And when she had
touched 1t, the father asked that she
look and see whether or not she had
soiled her glove, and the reply was,
Just the least bit" Now, my
daughter" said the father, however
lightly you may attend the ball to-
night, just so far will your beautiful
Christian character be defiled, the
making of which has cost your mother
and | thousands. of prayers, perhaps,
and many tears, but, go If you want
to-" The simple illustration was TO
her sermon that went right home to
the heart. She bade her company
goodbye, went again TO her room and
falling upon her face, thanked God
for Christian father.
Before God and the Father" There
is an implied meaning in this double
naming of the judge before whose tri-
bunal the purity of all religions is
daily tested, that guarantees justice
in each case 1t does not read pure
and defiled religion before men or an
gels, but before God and the Faith
er." God, who looks into the heart
and knows the thoughts of man afar
off, can not be mistaken in his SINGER
ity.
ITO visit the fatherless and widows
in their Affections" The word visit,
as it is used in this connection means
more than to make social call. The
words, lin their affiiction," convey the
idea of rendering service TO them as
well as relieving their affiction as far
as possible. Many of the visits to the
sick and helpless are but a nuisance.
st. James is authority for the truth of
this statement. He says: IF a
brother or sister be naked, and des-
titute of food, and one of you say unto
them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed
and filled notwithstanding ye give
them not those things which are need
full for the body, what doth it profit?"
In other words. what good do kind
words, when poor fellow is starving
for food or dying of cold?
| was sitting in front of a store in
an Alabama village once, talking with
company of gentlemen, when a
farmer walked up with a sad express
sion on his face. | stepped forward,
giving my hand and said, why do
you seem sad this morning?' His re-
ply was: my horse died last night"
Said !, "Oh, how sorry ! am" and
each gentleman expressed his sorrow
as they talked with him. And when
we were all seated the passage above
quoted came into my mind, appealing
to me in this manner: What good
have all of these kind words done
that poor fellow, who has a sick wife
and six helpless children?" Said l.,
when | had repented of my first at
tempt at consoling the heart-broken
farmer: Pardon me. brother, If | give
you S. to help buy you another
horse" The other gentlemen follow
ed suit, and in less time than two
hours we had the farmer on his way
home rejoicing, and with a better
horse than he had lost.
And to keep himself unspotted
from the world" OF course st. James
does not undertake to define religion
abstractly, for there are many things
not mentioned here that come In the
line of Christian duty. But he does
weave into this text two of the most
important duties belonging to the
Christians work, charity and purity.
Charity has to do with the service we
owe others, while purity has to do
with the duties We owe to ourselves.
We owe to others the charity Of our
hearts and to ourselves the purity of
life We. owe TO ourselves that pur-
ity of life that will keep us unspotted
from the world. A religion thus pure
is an argument for good that the
world can not gainsay and will stand
the test when the moon is waning,
stars falling and this world is being
destroyed by fire.