Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-07-23

Such, then, is the view of death
that was taken by the disciples of
Jesus and the apostles of the early
Christian church. And think it is
abundantly clear that most Of us are
far away from such view. Death is
to us the last calamity. We meet it
with fear and uncertainty.
How is one to account for this
strange dissimilarity? How has
JOY become heartbreak. and an In
spiration become a terror? II we
can answer this we snail answer
many lesser questions, and discover
how it is that not only in death, but
in sorrow and sickness and disap-
pointment we are missing the con-
ISOLATION and the glory that ought to
dwell evefmore in our hearts.
1t is clear, l-think, that the men
who found and held to the glory of
death were free from many of the :
subtle temptations that surround our :
lives The atmosphere they breathed
was pagan. The work they did was
unpopular The Gospel they pro-
fesssd was bitterly ridiculed and op-
posed These men could not live,
Christian lives as ''of course. They
had got to live it deliberately, pas
sionately, earnestly. They were driv-
en- back to draw out of Christianity
the very richest that it would give
To drift was impossible They were
definitely o.it of it. And as they
faced it all with the Spirit OF Christ
| in their hearts. and with great. he
| roic faith in Him. they discovered
w.. true lie stood and what rivers Oh
! strength outhowed from Him into
Il a;asar. Het
| The foundation of their fearless
ness was experience, and SO personal
experience of Christ and their utter
inability to find joy in the world mades>
the glory of death.
+ Out of their circumstances and ex-~
periences cant you catch a gleam OF
something that is not our own? Can't
| you see something in their cfrcum-
stances and in their hearts that we
lack? ] think both are abundantly
1 clear fsssA.r~a--ssasls
Take our circumstances. We live
In no pagan atmosphere. The
churches consecrated to the program
of Christ are the most visible objects
or our cities. They Haunt themselves
in our faces. The bells peal out glad
notes above the din and clash Of
traffic. And what of the Book that
and works Of Jesus? All may pos
sess and read it.
To be Christian is no longer to
be heroic. A man may confess Christ
without apology. Nay! The UNDER
lying assumption behind all our ac-
tlons is that a man is a Christian.
10 be otherwise man must specific
ally and ostentatiously deny it. We
start our life with Christian baptism ii
we are hid away with the undying
words of Christian hope ringing above
our sleeping place. We join our life
to another, and rear our homes upon
the Christian foundation But all
has degenerated to an idle form.
| 1t has come to be taken for grant,
ed. Men ask for baptism for their
children and burial for their dead,
because it is the usual, the expected
: thing. And, brethren, don't you see
where it has led us to? To a Chris
tian Journalism that contains no vital
! ity, no power. We are living lives
devoid Of experience. We do not feel
the power of Christ. nor do we see
: the glory of His living presence. We
: humble words that have no deep.
abiding significance
It is tragic; it is horrible. But it
is the spirit of the age. The Chris
: tan life is losing much because of the
: success of Christianity. Because it
: has meant and has accomplished so
much, it means and accomplishes so
, little to-day. Its success is the cause
of our personalities. It is an old his
! tOric. truism that success is the be-
:. ginning Of defeat. 1t has happened
= in empires and religions. 1t is the
: man who has to fight for his faith
= that holds that faith as his most cher
ished possession. We take Christ as
we take our daily bread, without
;. one thought of all it means, of all IL
: represents.
And what of our experience? My
:. dear brethren, it is because we find
:. our joy in the world and miss the JOY
of Christ that death has been changed
= from a glory to fear, from an in
). spiration to a dismay. We have
h grown to love the world-this fading
e dying world-its joys, it's music, it,
t rewards. We have grown to forge,
the sacred, eternal words Of Christ al
e to what life is, and duty, and God.
f And the years race on - busv
d crowded years of labo. for place a16
e money and success. When the nigh
r. grows dark and lonely we cry fol
,e comfort. and when the Gay break!
= with golden beams of light we haste1
ir away and We forget. We forget: w,
10 forget!
reI Ahi it Is the man whose night ha:
"a been the longest that Knows Chris
~ the best tand fears death the least
o There are worse cslamities than sor
a row and defeat. One thousand nin
& hundred years ago Jesus warned IL
ct against success It binds us and j
ri holds much from us. In the day {
ns our own suficiercy it is hard to Sc
ay and plan for Christ, Is it. not impos
sib1e?