Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-09-12


some of you today and say, Are you
follower Of Jesus Christ? Do you
stand before all the world and say,
He Is my Saviour and my LordT"
some Of you would have to answer,
mo" You believe in Christ in your
heart, but you are not willing to pro-
fess him with your lips. Now comes
the pertinent question: "Why do you
not make this public profession? why
not say: Christ is my all in all. lie
is my only support on this side and
my only hope for the other side Of the
grave" ask you again, Why do
you not do thus?
Tho Worthiest Christian.
"Wcll" you answer what Is the
good of my doing 1t? In the first
place, am not wealthy. If I make
public profession of Christianity and
Join the church. cannot afford to give
much money, and the church does not
want me unless | am able to pay.
Then I cannot attend church often. |
am so bound down to the store and the
! home that when Sunday comes I am
not any special ability. l cannot sing
or pray in public or teach Bible
class. 1t does not matter much wheth-
er | join the church or no. | might MS
we'll stay out as to go there and be a
perfect nonentity." No, my brother
and sister, you may make those ex-
cuses, but you know deep down in
your heart you are not telling the
truth. You know that the most infiu-
entail Christian men and women in
your life have not been the speakers
nor the wealthy men. They were not
men and women of great social promi-
nence, but they were men and women
who went to church because they
could not stay away. There their gos-
pei faith beamed from their eyes and
smiled from their lips and greeted you
in warm handshake. Though they
did not know 1t at the time, they were
leading you to Christ in spite of your
selves. Now, rs these humble Chris
tians of the past generation led you to
Jesus by their public professions, can
not you today lead others to Christ In
the same way?
But we must not stop here. 1t is i'm
portant for us to make a public pro.
fession of our faith in Jesus Christ.
1t Is also important for us to lead our
fellow men to Jesus by our business
dealings as well as by our public
prayers. A man cannot he Christian
on Sunday and a sharp, schemng,
avaricious, unprincipled business man
during the week He cannot be a
true elder Of the church and pass the
sacred bread at the holy communion
and then as a usurer OF a produce ex-
change manipulation cheat the farmer
out of his yearly harvestings on week
days. He cannot be a servant of God
In the church and yet deny him in the
store. And 1t Is in the store that our
religion Is put to Its severest test. II
we are willing to give to God con-
secrated pocketbook, there will be no
difficulty about God giving to us many
souls for our hire.
Christ In Business.
Do you see that young man standing
over there? Who is he? why" YOU
answer, "he is one Of my new clerks.
have just hired him. l do not know
who he Is, except that he has lately
been put upon our payroll" Is that all
you know about that young man?
Well, l will tell you who that young
man Is. He is one Of your spiritual
children. AS the sculptor can take a
lot OF soft clay In his hand and mold 1t
and twist it into the figure of the plas-
ter cast, so you today are molding the
spiritual life of that young man. He
is as putty in the hands Of the glazier.
He comes to yon fresh from his moth
ers arms. lie knows nothing about
the great wide world. You are to be
his next teacher 1t makes great
deal Of difference to him whether you
60 to church. 1t also makes a great
deal OF difference whether you have
decreed that honesty and truth shall
remain supreme in your business es-
tabliShment. II you allow your clerk
to sell goods under false pretenses
you are going to corrupt him. II you
compel your employee to be true and
honest in dealing with your customers
you will make him true and honest and
pure. You did not think you were n
city set upon hill. You did not know
your go9pel light was shining before
men in the store. But today, as bust
ness man, you arc a spiritual archer,
and you cannot help yourself. You
are fighting for or else you are fighting
against Christ In the store, and your
arrows are flying every whittier.
But IL it Is important that we should
use our influence for Christ in our
financial dealings Is 1t not also i'm
portant that we should use that infiu-
ence for Christ in our social inter.
course? Indeed, often think 1t more
important how we deal with our
fellow men for Christ in our social In
tercourse than In business, for then we
are able to study mems peculiarities
and find out 'the joints of their har-
hess" And every man has his vul-
} nerable spot in which he can be reach
ed for Christ When we meet men in
social intercourse we find them OF
: their guard. Then 1t Is so easy to
bring them to Jesus If we can only
touch the right spot. I never had this
fact so powerfully presented to me as
by an old friend, who was telling me
an incident connected with the laying
OF the Atlantic cable.
Some years ago Charles Kingsley