Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1907-06-14
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TRUE SYMPATHY NEEDED.
By Rev. Percy T. O

xl., 10.
To interpret fully the command,
"Love one another" Is impossible un-
less we know the meaning OF the word
sympathy. The expression Of our love
for the children of men In deeds Is
comparatively easy; but to be able to
enter into their feelings, to understand
and appreciate the powers and infu-
ences that are molding the lives OF
those around us-that is the gift most
to be coveted IL we are to fulfill the
divine command, and it is to be found
only where sympathy dwells. .,-
Humanity is made up of hearts and
hearts need sympathy more than gold.
AS long as men feel and think and de-
sire, so long will this rule stand. There
are those who need both In equal
measure. The hungry, the naked, the
outcast, the oppressed, must be met
with the outstretched hand in which
there Is the visible token Of the sym
pathy that prompts the greeting.
But there are times when the empty
hand alone is sufficient; times when
the need of the body has been cared
for and it is only the heart that Is
CRYING out for food and shelter and
methinks were we to search carefully
we would find In this world of ours
more hungry hearts than hungry stom-
achs.
A soul possessed Of a passionate love
for its fellow creatures, refusing to
see only the weakness and folly of hui
man nature, ever striving to break the
bonds of the captives and to bring
them to a consciousness of their pace
and standing as children in the great
family of mankind-such a soul knows
the full measure of the word sympa-
thy, that word which stands for Joy
beyond expression and a pain beyond
definition.
The area of contact with the life of
the world depends upon the SOULS pow
er Of sympathy. For the soul that has
not developed this divine attribute the
world is a very small, narrow place.
Only among a limited number does it
find a common ground and mutual in
terests. 1t is shut off from the rest
of life as truly as If surrounded by
walls Of brick and mortar Strive as
, 1t may, it cannot touch the life all
around, nor receive from that life for
the satisfying of it's need.
The secret of the power Of some
souls on the life of the world lies in
the fact that in these souls there is
| found sympathy in overfowlng meas
, ure. 1t Is not genius, nor intellect,
[ nor power, nor even beauty of form or
| speech, that draws mankind to the feet
, of these great souls. The world ad-
mires genius, it respects intellect, 1t
obeys power, it finds joy in beauty, but
1t loves only love and only the love
that is expressed in tender, strong,
passionate, all-embracing sympathy.
If we look for the center of attrac-
tion in the matchless life of Jesus
Christ think we will find ii to be His
boundless sympathy. 1t was not chief
ly lut WlbuOul VI IllS tthClllub Iut
glory of His character that made the
common people flock to His side; 1t
was that infinite compassion, that
yearning love, that divine sympathy
which drew them and which ever since
has been drawing the tired, sin-sick
e world close to the heart of Jesus
7 Christ.
OF the blessings which the Gospel
: Of Christ has given to the world, sym.
t pathy stands among the chief and fore
e most. Before the advent of Christ
( men had not learned how to put to-
l. gether the letters that spell the word
i 1t was Christ who taught ito rejoice
= with them that rejoice and to weer
y with them that weep He smiled al
s the wedding feast at Cana Of Galilee
and He wept at the grave of Lazarus
n He lived and loved and suffered be-
cause the world needed him, and He
asks that those who call Him master
n shall do likewise, for sympathy is the
i only interpreter Of the Gospel.
a THE PURPOSE OF LIVING