The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-05-15
HeIpfulness.

They helped every one ms niegh-
Dor, and every n said to his broth
er, Be Of good courage. - Isaiah
xii, 6. y veg
This is the secret Of Christ's insti-
tuition of the church. 1t was that in
its fellowship His disciples might aid
n another in holy living.
Certainly this mutual helpfulness
of the communion of saints is one OF
the i~ncalculable blessings Of the
Christian church. And it should
show those their error who think
that they can be religious as we'll
without as within the church.y For
religion, above everything else, needs
the strengthening and nurture that
come from Christian fellowship and
demands that self-sacrifice be shown
for the good of our fellows.
The best defense Of Christianity is
to practice it. The surest way to BIZ
lence scepticism is not by sn argu-
ment, but by a man. The atheist
who spent a few days with the saint
ly Fenelon said: IF I stay herega
few days longer I shall become a
Christian in spite Of myself" Fene-
lon was too meek and gentle for pole
mics and had not uttered q word OF
controversy or of appeal. He simply
presented the quiet, convincing ar
gument Of a beautiful, unselfsh. holy
life.
But helpfulness can be shown df-
rectly by kindly feeling, by proofs 9
disinterested friendship, by the az
surance that our heart warns toward
our brother. In the ~intercoursess OF
life it can easily be seen whether one
is wholly self-eentred or whether he
has q heart for the welfare Of others.
And if an associate shows that he
can forget himself in his eager inter-
est in our handicaps or successes, in
our sorrows or joys, 1t heartens us
like the fresh morning breeze, and
drives WEAKNESS and care from our
brows.
Most especially can the grace OF
helpfulness be exempliied in the hour
of need. Crises come in life, critical,
junctures arise. Such epochs are or
ten turning points in ones personal
fate. One path leads to success, the
other will bring failure. AS we act
now our whole future shall be shaped
to our honor or regret, to u joy ar
pain. And then is the hour when
helpfulness is most precious. q
little deed of uplift, one mite OF AID,
one act of kindness will bear fruit a
thousand fold.
Ave, it is in the time of need that
sincerity is tested, and that 1t comes
out whether helpfulness is genuine
or shallow pretense! He who then
draws near, shares his neighbours sor-
row, puts his own shoulder under the
burden, assists the struggler TO his
feet, stands by him until the storms
fierce blast is over, proves that ne
has the Christian spirit, whatever
name he bears.
In the stress and rivalries of mod.
ern life no duty Is more apt to De
neglected than this to help every
n his %neighbor, and to say every
one to his brother, Be Of good, courr
age" And this neglect is to our
neighbor's hurt, and none the less to
our own. For the bearing Of others
burdens is the secret by which We
find our own lives. For thereby we
are led to higher ideals and to place
our happiness not in ftful fortune,
but in acts of brotherly love. And
it's rare fruitage will be growth IN
character, strength in our own hour
of need, and, above all, the blessing
I~of our Father above, which Is unto
eternal life.-Junius B. Remensny-
der, Pastor st. James Lutheran
Church, in the New York Sunday
Herald.