The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-21
Always Active.

the holy joys of domestic love. Has God not blessed your life, o Christian, with holy, eternal love?
 Always Active.
 But there is another fact which i'm. presses me about the lives of the spar rows or of the other birds of the woods, and that is their ceaseless activity. They never seem to be still. If you are walk ing along the country road you see them always on the wing. If you try to read book under an overhanging bough and you are covered up by curtain of leaves 80 that they cannot see you they still keep on the move. You see them flying hither and thither Now they are seek ing food; now they are speeding away as If they were going to visit some friends. They are fying-yes, nearly always fly Ing. During the intense heat of the day some of them may rest for little while In the cool shade of leafy bough. But for the most part they are on the wing and moving this way and that.
 While you watch this ceaseless activity of the bird you may say to me, If God Is good and God Is kind, why does he not make life easier for the sparrows?" Then I would say "It is @ good God who keeps the little birds on the move. It would be a cruel God who would allow the sparrow to sit still and do nothing" I NNN+N catch little sparrow and shut him In a golden cage as some women do with their sweet throated canaries Then, supposlng I should All the seed cup of that cage with the most enticing bird food and put the dearest, purest water into the cup. Then supposing I should say to this caged bird: Now, sparrow, I am going to make your life a life of joy, for 1t shall be a life of ease. I will give you all the sunlight you want, all the food you want and all the drink you want. I shall clean out the cage at least twice a day so no dirt shall be about you. All that you need to do is to sit upon a perch, just as you sit upon a tree branch, and twlt- ter and talk and talk and twitter' What would be the result? Why, soon, very soon, the plumage of that sparrow would be ruffled Then his head would droop, and he would sclzen and die. An, the sparrow does not find health and strength and happiness in doing nothing. God blesses his creatures by giving them opportunity for ceaseless activity. He never blesses a life by never ending ease.
 The Trout's Fin.
 Why does the trouts fin look like a flake of silver as he leaps out of the eddy? Because every morning and even- ing he finds his health and strength and joy through working and labor ing in the currents of the brook to get his daily food. Why do the lower branches of a tree grow stronger and heavier? Because each lower branch has to reach out farther and farther in order to push It's leaves into the sunlight. Why does the busy man find life an endless joy? Because as he works and keeps on working he not only wins a livelihood for his dear ones, but by that work he gets clearer brain and purer blood and happier life. Oh, my friends, do not begrudge the sparrows their work! Do not say to me that it is cruel God who would hide food for his little birds in the earth. Cruel indeed would be that God who would make life easy Tor hls children and for his feathered friends.
 As I see the little sparrows flying hither' and thither l see that their wings were not given to them alone for seeking food. The God who bids the sparrows WorN that they may have happiness ana health is the same God who says: "SparroWs, I will protect you from your enemies. will give you a means for fleeing away from danger. Though the hunters gun try to shoot you and the serpent eye to fascinate you and the wildcat to XII you, yet with wings you shall ma salety for yourself and also safety TOT your little ones" Did you ever stop to thlhk that God never created a living creature PCtNAN~~ creature to have some means to detehd himself against his foes in combat or else some means by which he might seek safety in flight?
 Some time ago it was my privilege to spend a few weeks camping in the noun tains At that time there was a govern ment restriction against taking shot- gun Into those hills. The forest rangers said: You must not kill the birds' IT was not at that time the season TOT huht- ing the deer The only things man was allowed to shoot were the ground squirrels and then he must shoot with rifle. In one sense they offered rlch prize for the camper, for squirrels can De cooked into the most palatable ana tooth- some of dishes But" l said to one or the mountaineers, why do they say we can shoot ground squirrels? There are no ground squirrels here to shoot. NO ground squirrels?" he exclaimed. Wny, there are thousands of them aoout' That Is strange" I answered. Il nave not seen any of them" But one even ing a short time after alone took walk away from camp. I left behind me TOT tha first time a little spaniel dog wnlcn