The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-03-10

| sand times all the other good accom-
| plished by his whole life-his hand
caught Simon, and brought about that
change of name at which all the an
| gels in heaven are still rejoicing.
Jesus looked upon him and said:
Thou art Simon, the listener, the
wanderer, the useless. Thou shalt be
called Cephas, Peter, the rock, and
upon this rock I will build My church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." Jesus read the charac-
ter of Peter by divine wisdom, per-
ceiving all his strength and his in
trinity. To Peter there must have
been, in the simple words, something
like lightning and the thunderbolt,
for he recognized one who had put
the finger on the weak spot or his
nature, and had pointed him to the
! method of securing the n quality he
| needed-frmness like the rock, gran
tie consistency.
Of the Twelve, Peter stands fore
| most. However different bodies OF
| Christians may be opposed in their
| ideas of Peters dignity, nothing less
a be said of him than that on the
| foundation Of his faith and courage
the fabric of Christendom rests, while
every believer on earth to-day Is in a
sense his child, But the great fact
is that Christ did not directly draw
Peter, but that Andrew found him
and brought him to Jesus. What a
Joy had Andrew all his life, and what
a Joy has he to-day, and what a JOY
will he have to all eternity! Christ
could have secured Peter in a thou
sand other ways, but Andrew was
allowed the honor, in part, no doubt,
to encourage all the weak and the
poorly qualified to labor with an
abundant hope.
Often Andrew is a woman. You
remember Monica's prayers and tears
at last drew her mighty son, whom
the church of all later ages reveres
as st. Augustin, to the Christ she had
herself already found. And there
was another woman, keeping a coun-
try tavern in England, believing that
her son possessed the power to be
useful for Christ, and cramping her
self to send him to a classical school
and then to Pembroke College, Ok
ford, and at last giving the world the
renowned evangelist, George White
field.
Andrew had only to touch n who
sat next him at the family board.
Your hand may have to stretch very
far to find the man who Is waiting
for you, At a great missionary meet
ing I met those whom love for Christ
had sent to the heart of Africa, to the
great cities of China, "to midas coral
strand" Sometimes the arm gathers
strength as it stretches and makes
wider and wider sweeps. There was
DR.. Grenfell, the medical student in
London, who became convinced that
his religious life had been a humbug.
AS he reached out he found some
ragged, lawless boys in the Sums.
Them he brought to the Master. The
arm reached farther and embraced
the deep sea fishermen around the
English coast. Then the arm
stretched all the way across the At
lantic and took in the seamen and
their families in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Let me add two general counsels.
In leading others to Christ, begin
with those dearest to you. When
Jesus commanded His disciples to 60
to all nations, He added, beginning
at jerusalem" Return to thine own
house and show how great things God
hath done unto thee"
So many who would work for God
covet some distant, romantic field.
Go to work right where you are.
Very likely you say, That is the hard
est thing to do. IIwould rather get
up and speak at the church, or go
into the slums, or to Brownsville or
Gowanus, than to say a word to my
brother John, or to the clerk at the
same desk. But why? Surely you
do not love those who r far away
more than those who are near! You
are not Influenced by the idea that
you will get more credit by outside
work; you are not, I hope, afraid that
those who know you we'll will pay no
attention to your words. On what
ever consideration your opinion rests,
it is a mistake. Undo the error. Let
your zeal in religion start just where
charity should. Suppose your friend
is not a Christian; "a you say that
you have lever spoken to him on such
a subject? What does all your other
speaking avail in Gods sight If you
neglect that which Jesus said was the
one thing needful?. Let me boldly
utter the opinion that much of ouI
weakness in the Christian Church
to-day, and, consequently much of the
wickedness in the world. lies right in
this-that Christian people are neg
Letting to make their Christian in.
| fuence felt in their own households
Foreign missions are all very well
but each one has a home mission that
is miles nearer to him than even the
limits Of this city.
There is n argument you can al
ways use with immense power. Say
to the careless, to the men and the
women who reject the Gospel without
really knowing anything about it, say
to them, "Give Christ a fair trial.
To Andrew and John following Him
Jesus said, What seek ye?" Anc
when they replied, Rabbi, where
dwellest Thou?" He answered, Come
and see." In that same spirit of con
fdence, He meets an inquiring worlC
to-day.
He welcomes all who will come
The honest inquirer who would know
His claims and on what rests the sal
walton He bestows, is cordially in
vited. The Nazarene does not nov
travel along dusty roads; He tread'
the sapphire pavements, yet still j!
He tender and sympathetic toward
the darkened and inquiring spirits a!
when He walked on the beach a
Galilee. His cry still is, If any mai
thirst, let him come unto Me-"
The Gospel has nothing to conceal