The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1909-06-10
your wings against the prison bars
and crying, ''just you wait till get
out of this-till get out of Jail. ~

your wings against the prison bars
and crying, Just you wait till I get
out Of this-till get out of jail.''
By whatsoever route you have arr
rived your outlook is practically the
same. You are not looking backward
but forward. This is your commence
ment! The great glorious world is an
undiscovered country before you.
Visions and ideals fill your soul.
Roseate tints light up the eastern sky
in the morning of your life. No need
to sing tonight, "Oh! that I had the
wings of a dove" You have more
wings now than you can ever use.
And now comes this preacher and
the sermon with the big name. An
other jailor! with his hour-long
sermon and his everlasting advices.
Thank the Lord it will be over at last.
1t will be the last sermon for some of
you. This "fancier" would clip your
wings. Or, to change the figure, you
are like colts who "feel their oats, -
and this spiritual trainer would put
the halter about your neck. ''The
restraints of life" "The repression
of your youthful spirits. - This is
the burden of his theme.
The preacher protests: An empha-
tic no! He is no jailor. He is not a
thief to rob you of the freshness of
your youth. He glories in your
ideals and visions. He would help
you to fulfill them. He wants you to
fly and to fly far and high. But he
wants you to alight now and then to
tell common mortals what you have
seen. To live, not to die. Life!
Life! and more Of it, This is his
theme. And in proof take this great
promise of the master man: II came
that 'ye' might have life and that 'ye'
might have it more abundantly. -
This is the expressed end and purpose
of Christ's mission to earth.
But this is getting mighty close to
religion!' And you are like Scipio
in Owen Wister's book, "The Vir-
ginian.'' Scipio said to the tender
foot: "Watch the Virginian. Some
thing is going to happen. - Some
thing fine and grand he meant. 1t
was the time of the visit of the Episco-
pal rector, DR.. Mcbride, to the
ranch, and the tenderfoot asked:
"What! is the Virginian going to get
religion!" "Religion!'' snorted
Scipio, "Religion would spoil him. -
ReIigion-too much of it-spoils
everything. So the world thinks and
so you think. Religion means re-
preston and is depressing. Life
means power and is the promise of
vital and energetic action. Religion
lays down the law, 'Thou shall not -
1t is like the days of your boyhood
when every nerve tingled to feel the
ball 60 "punk" against the bat. You
are making bee line for the vacant
lot and have gotten as far as the
fence when heavy hand is laid upon
you and another hand points to
the implied wood. Or, on just the
very best sort of day, when you
were stealing tiptoe out the back gate,
fshpole over shoulder, worms in your
pocket, thinking you had escaped
that almighty hand. But it descends
as out of the sky and you are SEN
fenced to the garden patch. Why is
it that always the best fishing days
are the best wedding days? Some
body must have made an awful
blunder. So thinks the boy.
The voice of youth cries, II want
and I will have" You look with
greedy eyes upon the world. You
stretch forth greedy hands to seize
what you desire. You are impatient
OF delay-and religion is hindrance.
Religion puts on the brakes. It
checks your impetuous spirits. It
means less life. less Joy, less of the
things you most desire.
Now, 1 am here to say with all the
force and power in me that just the
opposite OF this is true else Christ is
false. Tonight you stand upon the
threshold of a more active life. and
almost fearful with the sense and
consciousness of powers and passions
and longings within; with visions and
dreams and high resolves, and if
there is any depth to you, any force
OF character, a sense of wonderment
and awe. I come to tell you of what
you are but half conscious, that all
these latent powers and passions in
you are divine-they are God-given.
III came that ye might have life.''
Jesus Christ comes to release these
divine powers in you-to set them free
to work-and to increase, and to in
sure that instead of working havoc
and ruin in your life that they shall
work out your salvation. To give
you life,-tO help YOU to live. az ST.