Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-04-26

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TRUE SYMPATHY NEEDED.
By Rev. Percy 7. olton.

Rejoice with them that dc reJoice
weep with them that weep.-Romahs'
XII, IS.
To interpret fully the command
glove one another is Impossible uh-
less we know the meaning or the woru
sympathy. The expression OF our lo'e
for the children Of men III deeds u
comparatively easy but to be aDie 20
enter into their feelings. to UNDERSTAND
and APPRECIATE the powers and int!u-
ences that are molding the lives or
those around us-that is the gilt most
to be coveted if we are to 1ulrll I'll"
divine command, and it is to be fouhI!
only where sympathy dWells.
Humanity is made up of hearts ana
hearts need sympathy more than gold
As long as men feel and think and de-
sire. 50 long will this rule stand. There
are those who need both in equal
measure. The hungry, the naked, tn"
outcast. the oppressed. must be met
with the outstrotched hand in when
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; II
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 70
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 Il joy
beyond expression and a pain beyond
definition.
The area of contacr with the life of
the world depends upon the souls pow
err 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 q common ground and mutual in
terests. 1t is shut off from the rest
OF life as truly as il surrounded by
walls of brick and mortar. Strive as
it may, it cannot touch the life all
around, nor receive from that life for
the satisfying of its 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 overlooking meas
ure. 1t is not genius, nor intellect,
nor power, nor even beauty of form or
that draws mankind to the feet
Of these great souls. The world adj
mires genius, it respects intellect, it
obeys power, it finds joy in beauty, but
it loves only love and only the love
that is expressed in Il tender. strong,
passionate, all-embracing sympathy.
If we look for the center Of attrac-
ton in the matchlesS life Of Jesus
Christ I think we will find it to be His
sympathy. 1t was not chief
ly the wisdom of His teaching nor the
glory Of His character hat made the
common people flock to His side; it
was that infinite compassion, that
yearning love, that divine sympathy
which drew them and which ever since
has been drawing the tired, sin-sick
close to the heart Of Jesus
Christ.
OF the blessings which the Gospel
Christ has given to the world, sym
stands among the chief and fore
most. Before the advent of Christ
men had not learned how to put to-
yether the letters hat spell the word.
It was Christ who taught 'to rejoice
with them that rejoice and to weep
them that weep" He smiled at
The wedding feast at Cana of Galilee
md He wept at the grave OF Lazarus.
BE lived and loved and suffered be-
aus the world needed him, and He
asks that those who call Him master
shall do likewise, for sympathy is the
only interpreter of the Gospel.