The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-18
BISHOP WILSON ON
 BEAUTY OF GIVING
TAKES TEXT PECULIARLY APPRO- PRIATE TO SEASON FOR SER. MON PREACHED AT SIMPSON TABERNACLE LAST NIGHT.

Bishop Luther B. Wilson of Chatta- nooga, of the Methodist Episcopal church, one of the most prominent Methodist di- vines in the south, an influential mem- Der of the conference, and the national
 president of the Anti-Saoon League. spoke at the tabernacle of the Simpson Methodist Episcopal church on the corner of Seventh avenue and Twenty-hfth street, north, last night Notwithstand- ing the indictment weather the service was largely attended.
 Bishop Wilson was introduced to the congregation by the pastor of the church, the Rev. H. R. Osborne, who spoke beautifully of his association with the bishop. Bishop Wilson responded simply but very appreeiatively.
 The bishop spoke on a text that is a familiar one; the thirty-ffth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles: Tt is more blessed to give than to receive" In speaking on his text the bishop spoke in part as fol- lows:
 It is more blessed to give than to re- celve. You will remember that these words were uttered by Saint Paul as d quotation of an utterance of the Lord. We do not find these words in the gospel, but we must remember that there are many such expressions of the Lord that were not set down in the gospel. The quotation is one that has been repeated many times and to my mind is one of the most beautiful and expressive al l though it has been repeated with sneers l and often with all self-complacency. We remember the story of the woman on her way to the temple, how, though she came in great poverty with only few pence which constituted all she had, she dropped them in the treasure box, realizing how insignificant they were to the contributions of the rich, and how that womans mite was as the stroke of silver bell which echoed through the centuries because it represented the beauty of the feeling In the heart and the willingness of the soul. Think how great that mite was, and. my friends, they may often be the gifts that are most needed.
 
 life, I do not measure these gifts by the estimate of the world, but by the cir cumstances of the gift.
 And it is blessed to receive. We are presently to pass into the Christmas sea son when there is always an interchange of thoughts and gifts. l once heard of a little newsboy in large city who of fered his papers for sale to a young lady as she passed along, and how she smiled on him, and though she did not buy the paper the little boy seemed pleased Then several days later the young lady was intercepted by the boy again and he off, fered her his papers and when she asked him why he kept on intercepting her, he told her: T just wanted that you should smile at me just once more" We who know the company of loving friends that form for us intuition can not without difficulty understand that boy who just wanted the memory of a smile.
 There Is a great blessing in receiving; of receiving from all of the mighty minds and hearts that have poured out treasures into the world.
 But the blessing of giving is a won- derful one, and one of the fine arts ot this life is the art of appropriate re- ception. But ask the old world to bring forth it's procession of the happiest and we would no doubt find many of them in tatters. There would no doubt be the old soldier who had lost an arm on the field or battle, but who had made d great sacrifice for a great cause And there would undoubtedly be the soul which had given itself to the Christly life. It is more blessed to give than to receive. It is d wonderful thing when our eyes are filled with tears and some one comes and wipes them away, and 1t is greater blessedness to go out and wipe away the tears of this old world 1t is even a larger thing to march out into the world dedicating yourself to some new liberty.
 Is it possibility that there is larger blessedness than for me to receive the
 The giving is the noblest of all Get what the age can give you get what love can give you, and get what the Lord, Jesus Christ can give you; but you have not learned the larger lesson of the Chrstly life until you can use your self to the advantage of the race. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Do you believe 1t? Then live not to get but