Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-09-04

] was eating a piece of watermelon
some months ago and was struck with
its beauty. | took some of the seed
and dried them and weighed them and
found that it would require some five
thousand seed to weigh pound. And
then l applied mathematics to that
40 pound melon. One of these seeds
put into the ground when warmed
by the sun and moistened by the rain
goes TO work 1t gathers from some
where 100000 times its own weight and
forcing this raw material through a
tiny STEM constructs a watermelon.
1t covers the outside with coating of
green, inside of the green ii puts a
layer of white. and within the white
core of red. and all through the red
scatters seeds, each one capable of
continuing the work of reproduction.
Where did that little seed get its ire
mendous power? Where did it find
its coloring matter? How did it col
lect its fiavoring extract? How did it
huild watermelon? Until you can
explain a watermelon do not be too
sure that you can set limits TO the
power of the Almighty or say just
what He would do or how He would
do it. | cannot explain the watermel-
on, but | eat it and enjoy it.
Power That Is Infinite and Divine.
Everything that grows tells like
story of infinite power Why should |
deny that a divine hand fed multi
tude with a few loaves and fishes
when | see hundreds of millions fed
every year by a hand which converts
the seeds scattered over the field into
an abundant harvest? We know that
months time. Shall we deny the pow
err of the Creator to eliminate the ele-
| ment of time when We have gone so
| far in eliminating the element of
| space?
But there is something even more
wonderful still, the mysterious change
| that takes place in the human heart
when the man begins to hate the
things he loved and to love the things
he hated, the marvellous transforma.
| ton that takes place in the man who
| before the change would have sacrific.
ed the world for his own advancement,
but who after the change would give
his life for principle and esteem it a
privilege to make sacrifice for his con-
victions. What greater miracle than
| this that converts selfish, self cen
tered human being into a center from
/! which good influences flow out in
every direction, And yet this miracle
has been wrought in the heart of each
| one of us. or may be wrought. and we
have seen it wrought in the hearts OF
| those about us. No; living in the midst
of mystery and miracles. | shall not
allow either to deprive me of the bene
| fits of the Christian religion.
Some of those who question the mir
acle also question the theory of atone
ment. They assert that it does not ac
cord with their idea of justice for one
to die for others. Let each one beal
his own sins and the punishments due
for them. they say. The doctrine Of
vicarious suffering is not new one
1t is as old as the race. That one
should suffer for others is one of the
most familiar of principles and we see
the principle illustrated every day o.
our lives.
H / find proof that man was made in
the image of his Creator in the fac
4 that throughout the centuries man has
| been willing to die that blessings de
/ MED to him might be enjoyed by his
children. his children's children and
! the world.
] The seeming paradox. He that saw