Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-08-30


er's place. Women, beware, Paul Is
bidding you look after your health.
Better join Paul for little while in
the cabin OF that Alexandrian corn ship
and eat your bread and look after your
physical strength. Your children need
you in the years to come even more
than they need you now
Here is young minister just called
to great church. He is a very con-
scientious man and believes that he
must do all the work that comes to
his hand. He calls upon the rich and
the poor alike. He works far into
the night over his sermons. He goes
to this meeting and to that and to
this funeral and that funeral. He is
like a horse running at a mad rate
until his TANKS are bathed with foam.
After awhile he drops in his tracks.
'Poor fellow people say. HE died
a martyr to his work" Oh, no, not
that. God did not call that young
minister to break himself down. God
does not expect any one man to do the
work of ten men. Better hold up,
Christian worker. Better dine with
God wants you to care for your phys
ical strength in order to be able to
do his work well. If Paul could af-
ford to care for his body, you can af-
ford to care for yours.
He Told the Truth.
But there was another reason why
Paul gripped the sailors of the Alexan-
drian corn ship. He did not deceive
those sailors in reference to their res
cue. He did not say: "Now, men,
just follow me, and trust in me, and
all will go well. L will give you
plenty to eat and q smooth sea and a
quiet voyage" Nay. That was not
Paurs way. He said, "Men, put your
trust in Christ. You are to have a
hard battle ahead. You think the
seas are rough now, but they are going
to be far rougher. They are going to
batter us about until we become n
helpless derelict. Then they will fling
us upon the rocks, and this great ship
is to be Knocked into kindling wood.
But out of the struggle and the storm
God is going to bring us all safely to
land. Now, men. if you trust God
you must be prepared to meet this
struggle" Thus Paul spoke. And
thus all gospel evangelists should
speak when they are pleading with
men and women to accept Jesus
Christ.
You cannot make good Christian
unless you are willing to battle with
storm for Christ and struggle against
almost insurmountable difficulties. The
life OF Christian ease is always the life
of failure. The life of self sacrificing
struggle for Jesus is always the life OF
spiritual success. 1t is said that the
greatest artistic genius England ever
produced was a young man named
Hawkins. He was. like Thomas Chat
terton, n precocious marvel. When he
was twenty years of age, he was her
aided as 1.-THE coming Michael Angelo
But the trouble with young Hawkins
was that he was never willing to make
the sacrifices necessary for his success
in art. On one occasion he was asked
by Mr.. Ackers, II prominent member of
the British parliament to make a
pleasure journey with him and some
friends TO Paris. II cannot" he re-
piled. IL have to finish picture
"How much do you expect TO get for
that picture after it is finished?" ask
ed Mr.. Ackcrs. Fifty pounds" 81
will give you that much for 1t now.''
With that Mr.. Ackers lifted his foot
and drove it through the canvas, say
ing, Now, Hawkins, drop the old pic
ture and spend your ESQ and let us
have some fun" SO it Is with all men
who are living the easy life. Like the
prodigy Hawkins, their lives are doom
ed to failure. So is it with the Chris
tian life. We must battle with storm.
We must sacrifice. We must give up
for Jesus, or else Jesus cannot save Us
and bring us to the higher Christian
life.
But there is one more lesson want
20 draw from this Mediterranean ship
wreck in reference to the Christian
life, and then 1 am done. Paul did
not say to those tossing, trembling
seamen, "One-half of this crew shall
be saved if We abide by the ship" BE
did not say, ''Three-fourths or five
eighths or nine-tenths of this crew
shall be saved if ye abide by the Ship
All, no! Some OF the men and women
would have grumbled had he said
that. They would have answered:
why are some of us saved and not
ALP" But Paul said, 1.-THE angelic
messenger said to me, 10, God hath
given thee all them that sail with
thee" So 1 come to you today and
say: ''Men and women and children,
in the name of Jesus Christ you can
all be saved through his blood If you
Will only cling to the cross of Jesus
Christ and live. Will you accept that
invitation? Will you be saved by that
cross? All Yea, ALL Will you be-
lieve God and accept him now?
And, oh, if you will only believe this
and accept Christ, what a glorious
time it Will be when we are landed
upon the other shorei 1 suppose when
that great AleXandrian corn ship went
to, pieces upon the island of Malta the
Inhabitants Of that island were down
there upon the beach to help the strug-
Cling men and women to land. Can
not you see them plunging into the
surf to drag the poor fellows outi
When the time OF our landing upon
the celestial shore comes, cannot you
see our dear ones rushing into the
river of Death to drag us out? Oh,
yes; they will come so near when the
surges Of death are rolling over us
that methinks their celestial hands
VIII almost touch our dying pillows.
Aye, can you not see those hands
reaching out now? Can you not see
them reckoning? VIII you not ac-
cept this invitation for that heavenly