Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-22

and are heavy laden, and L viii give you
rest" Matthew us2S
sSzzs0H HERE are two most marvellous
| l3sgMA things about the message and
| lW HsI the religion of Jesus, the
! la Vk< worlds greatest teacher. The
| - Vii first is the freedom, the orig
z-g inality, the freshness, the
kindness and the beauty and
| helpfulness Of his teachings. His words
are indeed a gospel, good news, to all
/ who feel the need of something to en-
| courage, to deliver and to help. There
| Is strength for the weak, encourage
ment for the despairing, forgiveness for
| the erring, kindly sympathy for the
| lonely, loving consideration for the de-
| spised and neglected, friendly greeting
for the outcast, and restfor the weary.
! The message of no other teacher, the
/ ideals of no other leader, have brought
SO much cheer into the lives of those
who are in need. Such was his mes
sage to man that as was prophesied of
him before his birth, "All generations
shall call him blessed" HE hath scat
tered the proud" HE hath filled the
| hungry with good things" and the
| ideals of his life were indeed ito give
light unto them that sit in darkness,
and in the shadow of death, to guide"
| the feet of all humanity into the ways
| of peace" These are some of the
marked characteristics of the teachings
of the great prophet of Nazareth. The
other thing, which is almost as marvel
GUS, Is that so many thousands of
those who have protested his name and
have claimed to be interpreters of his
| teachings have nullified, distorted,
weakened and virtually destroyed the
real heart of his message. With ira
ditions, neutrality-suspicious., selfish APP
| plications and heartless disregard of
the practical application Of his truth.
his mighty and glorious structure OF
truth has ben so marred and honey
combed that 1t has frequently become
both unrecognizable and pitiably weak.
The real gospel has not lost its power
over human hearts and never will so
long as there is a need in human life,
but the caricature of 1t, the weak and
worthless substitute which Outlines
parades in the livery of heaven is fast
losing its influence and its power.
Perhaps in no one thing has the
thought Of Christ for humanity been
more disregarded and his teachings
more distorted than in this very thing
of rest for the weary. Christ would
take burdens from off human hearts
and human hands. He would ease the
load of this weary toiling, sweating,
dying race and give them a little res
| pite. No man with the heart of the
| Master would ever add one single bur-
| den to any human being. Were his
true followers to prevail and shape the
| lives and destinies of men, much of
the WEAKNESS which at present and for
centuries past has worn and crushed
| the heart out of so many millions OF
| the race would end, and end forever
| Were actual Christianity, rather than
| Its blasphemous counterfeit, to hold
| sway, the great, simple teaching OF
| Jesus would not be so ''spiritualized''
as to mean next to nothing, but would
actually make life easier. There would
| be rest for the weary and leisure for
| the great mass of humanity such as
has never yet been granted to the
world.
Christ would take the burdens of
mankind. Those who presume to lead
| humanity and who have been instru-
mental In shaping the destinies of the
majority of the race have succeeded In
one thing, and that Is in binding ever
| increasing burdens upon the world,
burdens Of senseless religious" observ-
ances, of stale and warping creeds, OF
outworn and life-sapping dogma, or
| unrequited physical toll, of eVer-1n-
creasing indebtedness, which the toiler
forever pays but in the benefits of
which, he rarely If ever shares; bur
| dens of warfare, burdens of fashion,
| burdens of Ignorance, and pr1estcraft,
| and superstition and mystery; all cali
| culated to hold in check the mind and
make the vast majority of the race the
slaves of those who are cunning or
fortunate enough to get others in their
power.
But while so very much that belongs
to our so-called Christian civilization
only makes the general burden of man
kind little more wearisome and hope
less, the real ideals of the Master
never have and never will change. A
true Christianity will bring to the
world precisely what the men are asked
in the words of the text, to receive. 1t
will bring them rest. It will make
weary world joyous with leisure. Worn
motherhood will no longer weaken its
offspring by burdens unduly borne be-
cause of the selfishness of some one
else; the great wealth producing forces
of nature on the sea, in the mine and
in the factory will learn that there is
somewhere an end to this toiling, and
that faithfully directed effort will
sometime be permitted to enjoy well
merited repose Little children will no
longer be dragged from their beds in
the early morning that their precious
blood and life forces may be coined
into gold for the further enrichment of
some heartless master. Slavery In ev-
cry form will disappear, and with 1t
will come leisure for mankind TO realize
in his life that for which all hearts
yearn.
One other great lesson TOO must be
learned, that all rest all healthful,
really enjoyable rest comes only after
honest toll. There are too many in
the world who do not toll, too many
idle who have an idea that they were
born that some one else should toll for
| them. All this under a Christian COM
monwealth would be changed. There
would be no 'leisufe classes" no gem
teel paupers who had no Visible means
of support save that which was con-
ferred upon them by the toll of others;
no gentlemen" and ladies" who have
an idea that they were designed by the
creator to be served and toiled for by
others. Ali will learn the great, glo-
rious truth of the Master that the
noblest and kingliest of men is he who
seeks to do his part, and instead OF
seeking others to serve him, himself
seeks some great service to his race.
When we have learned these truths on
the plane of the life which we now
know, then there will be some faint
hope OF making a higher application;
hut until we are willing and able to
live the religion of Jesus in the affairs
of this life we need have little hope
that 1t will be effective In changing the
conditions of the life to come
--s- 49,
ats-