The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-06-12

ness. We recall the words, eff thy
right hand offend thee cut it off and
cast it from thee"
The excuse may be that men think
themselves not good enough. But the
purpose of Christianity is to make
men good; not to take them after
they are good. 1t may be cowardly
fear of criticism stands in the way.
But the true man does not fear criti.
cism when doing the right.
$50 thou and publish abroad the
Kingdom of God" was the message to
the young man who excused himself
1t tells the nature of the service.
That service is essentially and pri.
marily personal. The first require.
ment is, Follow Me-" That means
to believe in Jesus as a personal Say.
Jour from sin. 1t means to live the
PRINCIPLES of the Christ life in our
daily life.
Whatever binders the tangible ex-
preston of that Gospel we profess
must be cast out. Is there secret
SIM 1t must go. Is there trick in
business that does not square with
honesty? 1t must go. Is there pet
jealousy or envy that does not weigh
we'll in the scales of love? 1t must
heart that is not pure and true? 1t
must CO. The outward appearance
Judges not the man, but the motives
and desires of the heart, they are the
Judge Time was, when a man was
deemed good if he committed nc
overt act of wrong. 1t mattered little
what he thought, or what the lusts OF
the heart might be, so long as he did
no wrong. But the searching truth OF
Jesus reversed these values. Not an
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a
,ooth, but render thou good for evil
If thy right eye offend thee, pluck ii
out and cast it from thee; for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy
members should perish. and not that
thy whole body should be cast into
hell" Nor is this strenuous ideal
enough: 1t is not sufficient that the
actions of the life conform to the laws
Of morality and righteousness. Listen
to the words of Jesus in which He
states the great ideal: "Ye have
heard how it was safd by them of old.
thou shalt not kill; but 1 say unto
you that whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment. Ye have
heard that it was said by them Of old.
thou shalt not commit adultery. But
| say that whosoever desireth thus tC
sin hath already done the sin in his
heart" 1t is the noblest ideal that
has ever been given to man. 1t de.
mands the publication of the motives
and desires of the heart as we'll as the
actions of the life; for from the heart
proceedeth all sin. 1t strikes at the
very centre of wrongdoing. Thus is
to rict nf oil
matter to the heart. The heart must
be right. Then, it becomes a matter
of the life. The life will be righteous
if the heart is right. Follow Me, said
Jesus. Get the heart and life in har
mony with noble ideals. Then, &c
thou and preach the Kingdom of
God"
Thus Jesus transfers the nature OF
service from the narrow limits of the
personal into the great worldwide
field of the social. The ultimate OBJ
ject becomes not ones own individual!
salvation, but the Kingdom of God.
which is also the brotherhood of man.
Jesus did not say to the young man.
Let the dead bury their dead, but go
thou and save thine cwn soul. But
He did say, Go thou and save others
into life, publish the message of love.
In that work for others in the name
If God, he would save himself. There
is 10 other way. He who seeketh to
save his life shall lose it; but he who
sacrifices his life for My sake, the
same shall save it.. The which is to
say a man cannot save his own soul
without seeking to save the life of
brother at the same time; a man can
aot be a. Christian and care nothing
jor the redemption of the world into
ne Christ-like life of light and love.