River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-12-23

lives, the street in
II which he resides,
the money he
owns, the position ne occupies, are
mere incidentals. The man himself
is worth thousand times more than
anything he has, or knows. or does.
These externals are simply the set
ting of the jewel of the soul, and
and though the jewel may be in the
mud and filth it is still jewel. The
raggedest beggar on the street, the
greatest drunkard that staggers along
our sidewalks, the most degraded wo-
man that plies her trade on the street,
the most insignificant bootblack or
newsboy, is worth more in the eyes of
God than all the wealth and honor and
position that this world can give.
We should set such high value upon
the individual that we shall esteem it
worth while to work and pray for the
salvation of one man, and if we sue
coed in converting only one man in
our lifetime, our life has not been a
failure.
To appreciate the value of man
we need look only at his faculties.
If man were only a threefold being
with memory, reason and conscience
he would be worth stupendous efforts
to save. But to the faculties add mag
ination. which pictures facts, appre-
ciates reason and gives to conscience
larger sphere of action. Imagina-
! ton makes the poet, the sculptor, the
musician. the painter, the orator, the
statesman. the general.
IF man were only a fourfold being
with memory. reason, conscience and
imagination, he would be mighty for
good or evil, for pleasure or pain. Add
to this the fact that he loves and
hates. that he laughs and weeps. In
deed, take the whole man, physical,
mental, moral and spiritual and you
have being a little lower than God.
Another consideration which in
creases his value is that he is capable
of such infinite growth in good or evil.
A man is valuable for what he is and
for what he may become. And in the
work of soul winning we should never
weigh a man in the balance of the
present so much as of the future.
A young man with bloated cheeks
and bloodshot eyes staggered along
the street in Worcester, Mass. He
was slave of drink. All the money
he earned he spent in the saloon.
There seemed to be little good in
him, and yet kind word turned that
young man to Jesus Christ, and
through the power of God the appe-
title for drink was conquered, con-
science assembled her throne, reason
welded its scepter, memory became
healthy and vigorous, Imagination
was rendered chaste and brilliant. The
result was John B. Cough, the great
temperance orator.
Another young man who had served
his term in the penitentiary because
he was a thief and a river pirate is
met and won to the Lord. AS he was
then, there was little prospect of bis
ever being or doing anything great,
and yet he became one of the most
successful soul winners New York
ever knew. He was an angel of min
istry to the souls of the outcast. They
crowded 316 Water street to hear his
testimony, and when he died his body
lay in state for hours, that the multi
tude who loved him might pass by
and cast tear or flower upon his
coffin. Jerry MacAuley was worth
saving as a river pirate, but his great
value was in what he became after
conversion.
An awkward country boy in Bos-
ton shoe store is not considered as
Of very great value to the community
and the country, but his Sunday
school teacher loves his soul and
urges him one day to give his heart
to God. When he appeared before the
church, asking admission, he was re-
fused.
Wise men advised him to wait un-
til he gave better evidence of CONVEX
sion. That green country boy in Bos-
ton was worth campaign in which
every Christian in Massachusetts,
might have taken part, for he be-
came D. L. Moody, the worlds great
est evangelist.
1t was a common every day sort Of
young man who entered the Primitive
Methodist chapel in London on a rainy
day and heard an illiterate Methodist
preacher speak on the text, Look
unto me and be We saved all the
ends of the EARTH" and when the
preacher looked this young man in
the face and. with stentorian voice.
said, Look to Jesus, young man, and
be saved" he was simply trying to do
his duty in impressing young heart
for Christ. Little did he think that
he was writing the truth upon a soul
that was to become Charles H. Spur.
geon, the greatest preacher of the
century.
Put high value upon every man, and
be careful not to estimate him by his
appearance or his environment. If he
seems to be worthless now, consider
how valuable God can make him
through transformation of character.
christ's Purpose.
The church must more truly share