Milford chronicle., 1907-03-08
Developing Talents.

work? Do you affirm that the illiterate
and uneducated can do but little or no
/ good for the MasterY No no.
am not asserting that. But / am as
serting that there is at least one door
Of your intellect like the fir tree doors
Of the inner sanctuary of the SOlomonic
temple which is capable Of the most
wonderful carvings. That one door
| leads into a music room, or into a
/ teachers room, or into an art gallery,
or into writer's study. l do not know
what that one talent Of your mind is,
but l know that you have one great
talent Develop it for Jesus Christ.
! Develop it to the very best of your
ability. Make its sounds the sweet
est. Make its colors the brightest
Make its parallels the most convincing
Make its OratiOns the most powerful
Say, "By the help of God 1 will take
this talent Of mine and develop it In
| tellectually that l may truly serve my
Master in an aesthetic as well as in
spiritual way"
When I was a student our honOred
theological professor, DR.. Thomas S.
Hastings, was lecturing to the boys
and giving us a long list of books
which he wanted us to study. These
books, if l remember Alright, covered
all the fields of literature, poetic, sci
entiic historical, as well as Biblical.
He was not only telling us how to
study the Bible by commentaries, but
also how to enrich our sermons by
gathering our illustrations from all
sources. You all know what it means
in plain English. If you would serve
God Alright, serve him with the best
developed brain that you can produce.
Go to the best of music schools and
train your songs for Christ. Go to the
best Of all colleges and train your
brain for Christ Gather for Jesus all
the best products of the scientific as
well as the artistic and the historical
and political life. Make your intelpct
the fir tree doors of the inner 'anc-
tuary carved with cherubim an@ PAIN
trees and flowers in blossom. the Dest
that we have or can have in ne intel
lectual life should all be cOnecrated
to the Masters service. 81
If it is important for us as inlVll5Gd-
ais to develop our intellects along the
lines of the beautiful, how much more
important is it for us to have homes
every door Of which is engraved with
cherubim and palm trees and blossom !
ing flowers! If it is important to
adorn our own individual lives, how
much more important is 1t by the di-
4,,.I In tho homo !
to adorn those lives which are living |
close to us!
A Staggering Thought.
1t is a staggering thought to me that
1 individually can do just about what |
1 like with each one Of my children for
nearly twenty years, or for nearly one
half or One-third of their lives. 1 can
tell them what time they are to go to |
bed and what time they are to get up. |
l can tell them what kind of food they |
are to eat and what they are not to eat |
1 can pick out all their clothes and |
limit them in the books they are to
study and to read. 1 can tell them
what pictures they are to look at and
what they are to do in my house. In
other words, for fifteen or sixteen
years of my children's lives 1 can alb
sOlutely do as 1 will in forming their
characters when they are living within
the four walls of my house. OF course
1 mean 1 can do as l please if their
mother agrees. On the other hand,
sometimes think the wife can do as
she pleases with the children, whether
the husband agrees or no. Now, my
friends, if we as parents have such
marvellous influence upon the lives Of
our children do you not feel that we
should do everything in our power to
develop their minds in an intellectual
way for Jesus Christ? Do you not be-
lieve that every door of our homes
should be engraved with cherubim and
palm trees and flowers in blossom?
To speak literally, do you not be-
lieve we should have flowers in the
home? 1t does not take much work to
plant a few flowers in your back yard
or even to plant a few geraniums or
petunias in a box of soil and have
them catch the sunlight as it comes
through Ssour windows of
winters day. Can you not place in
the middle of your dining table a fern
cry? No child ever yearned to love
flowers, but through flowers it was
easier for him to love Christ. Can you
not hang copies of the old religious
upon your walls? 1t does not
cost much to get a copy Of Rubens'
Descent From the Cross" or "Christ
at the Last Supper" or an easter
or a Millet's "Angelus"
1r a ruth Cleaning After the Reap
ers." You had better teach your chill
1ren to love good pictures, for, mark
ne, if you do not teach them to love
good pictures when they are young
hey may learn to love bad pictures
when they are beyond your control.
Can you not buy for your children
some musical instrument, if it is only
/ phonOgraph, and have that phonO-
yraph play some Of the worlds best