The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-09

her children. When at last my mother body cried ill sheer weariness, Come, let me diel" the soul answered: May, naEi You may die, but I shall live I shall live and continue to live and never diei" Now if the body is so frail so evanes- cent, so transitory, so short lived, do you not think it foolish to waste so much time in trying to gratify it? What is the good Of Michelangelo trying to duplicate his statue of a David or q Moses out of @ snoW bank? What is the good of a jew eler trying to make diamond rings out of dewdrop? What is the good of trying to build fertilization upon the shifting sands? "Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiments" Is not the soul more important than the body, which will be dead in few years at the most?
 Of Infinite Importance.
 Oh, the infinite importance of the i'm mortal soul! Oh, the never ending exist ence which is stretching out before all of us after our bodies are deadl Can you not catch faint glimpse Of that apocalypse? In one Of our great educational institu- tionS some years ago there was student noted for his mathematical genius. He loved to challenge his fellow students to friendly trial of skill in figures. But one day Christian student entered his room and said, Tom, here is a problem I wish you would try to solve for me" The mathematician took it and looked at it and then read the words, What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" In anger he tore the paper up and threw it upon the floor. But after his Christian friend had left he proceeded to study the prob lem. He began to compute the value of money and fame and position and world l5 success. Then lie commenced to weigh the value of his soul. What shall it profit man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own seul?' At last a revelation of the soul 8 value above the combined value of all other things came to him. Then he dropped upon the floor and cried out, God be mereiful to me and save my soul" So put the question to you. Do you desire to make the most out of your life7 What, o man, is to be your life's work? How shall you get the the maximum of return for your la bors? Do you not see how this text rises and spreads until at last it girdles the earth and girdles the heavens and girdles the eternities? He that winneth souls is wise"
 But these words of my text are signif- cant for another reason. Soul winning Is not only the greatest of all work but 1t Is also the most rational. Our Lord God Is not unreasonable nor does He reQuiro Of us more than we can do. but He says 'Go forth in this mighty work of soul saving, and I will be with thee. I will give thee divine power. and will work through thee as I worked through the great soul winners of olden times.,,' Paul expressed my meaning in words more powerful than any living man could frame. He maps out a great evangelistic campaign for Christ He maps out a. great religious campaign that from a hu- man standpoint appears that of a crank or fool From the human standpoint Paul seems to be the widest of fanatics but for one reason. He says: 'In my own power can do nothing, but in the divine power can do everything. I can do all things through Christ, which strength eneth me-" In other words, he believed that God would re-enforce him, as He will us, with divine power in the great work of saving a soul