Willmar tribune., 1908-07-22

to give.''
This truth is vividly illustrated
by the old fable about the noun
tain stream and the pond. The
pond called over to the mountain
stream one warm spring day and
said: "What foolish fellow you
are to be giving yourself away SO
constantly! Why do you keep
pouring yourself into the valley so
freely? You will soon have moth
ing left of yourself. I don't in
tend to exhaust myself so by spend
ing my resources on others. l am
going to be saving of myself and
keep every drop of water that l can
get. mean to retain my power
and husband my resources. The
mountain stream didn't say much,
but kept on flowing down the
m,untain side, dashing it's spray
Upon the rocks, and farther on fer
tilizing verdant fields and turning
the wheels of industry for man.
Summer came on. and as the suns
rays grew in intensity and drawing
power, the water in the selfish pond
began to evaporate, and it de-
creased from day to day in size, un-
til there was nothing left but a
stagnant good for nothing pool.
But the generous mountain stream
kept flowing on all the summer
thru, blessed with an abundance of
supply, and being a blessing to all
the land thru which it flowed.
Beloved Christian Endeavorer,
what kind of a life are you living?
Is it the life of which the selfish
and stagnant pond is a type, or is
the life typifed by the self-sacrifc-
ing, outfowing mountain stream?
When our Lord wanted to de-
scribe the life Of believer in Him
He said that that life would have
springing up within a we'll of liv-
ing water; but. He did not stop there
with His description. He said that
out of that life should flow rivers
of living water. He gives the liv-
ing water of the divine Spirit.
that the water may flow from the
inner life, as life-giving streams,
into the lives of others.
These teachings of the New Testa-
ment are but the repetition of
Gods words in the Old Testament: ::
81 will bless thee; and be thou a
blessing"
! believe that is the message
above all Others that our divine
Savior would bring to US today.
"Be thou blessing' l would
that that might be the keynote of
this Convention. Why did you
come to this convention, dear
friends? Did you come here be-
cause you thought that this conven-
tjon would be means of blessing
to your souls? Did you come in Or
der that your Christian characters
might be strengthened and your
Christian lives enriched? Did you
come that you might be drawn
nearer to God and better enjoy the
presence of God?
These are all proper objects for
our gathering and legitimate mo-
tives for our coming. But these
objects and these motives are in
sufficient in themselves, and our
gathering together in this Conven-
tion will be bane rather than a
blessing, if we do not make it our
prayer that as we go away we will
go not only with the conviction
that we have been blessed, that we
have indeed sat together in heaven
ly places in Christ Jesus, but with
a strong purpose in our hearts to
be a blessing to others such as we
have never been before. "Be thou
81 b}essing!' That is what the
Master is saying to US. Only thus
will our Convention Purpose be full
filled; mot unto Ourselves.
Be thou a blessing in your
HOME. If there is any place
where our Master would have US
break the alabaster box of Chris
tian service that it's fragrance may
be poured forth, it is in the sphere
of home life. To the man who had
been blessed by Christ in the re-
storation Of health, and who want
ed to be with Him, the Master said {:
eco home to thy friends and tell
them what great things the Lord
hath done for thee and hath had
compassion on thee.'' He had been
blessed by Christ; he is charged to
be a blessing to others. And
where? Right in his own home.
Our religion is not worth much if
it is not good thing to live with.
Every day the opportunity Genes
to each of US who has a home to be
a blessing there. Be blessing to
that tired mother who needs all the
love and sympathy and encourage
ment that you can bestow. Be a
blessing to the father who some
times becomes discouraged in the
battle of life. Be a blessing to
that feeble sister or that wayward
brother who shares with you the
amenities of home life. Be a bles-