The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-23

the case of others, generstes In us vfr- tues such As: sympathy. self-sacrifce, gentiensss. Indeed. tf there were nv suffering there would be little serving. If pain were unreal. then would there be no virtue of courage to face 1t. word, those virtues would be unreal too. The reality of the virtues which the sufferin9s call forth. depends up- on the reality of the sufferings them- selves. and the reality of the virtues we must admit. So you see, pain and suffering--hard as they are to bear. much as we naturally shrink from them. eruAi and unnecessary as they sometimes seem to be-after all. en- rich life and do not impoverish 1t.
 "rhat suffering develops character Is a self evident fact Shakespeare says. Sweet are the uses of diversity" An other poet says, "The hours of pain have yielded good which prosperous days refused;" another. .,As gold is tried by fire, so must the heart be tried by pain" It develops mental activity. Darwin says, If I had not been so great an invalid. should not have done nearly SO much work" Tenny-. son's greatest work, '1n Memoriam," was the result of his intense grief for his friend. Arthur Haliam. shaks- speare, in his Sonnets. shows that he, the greatest of English writers. was a sufferer. Suffering qufckens the intel lect and draws out all our best and deepest thoughts. Suffering. too draws out our nobiest feelings. Pity, sympa- thy and lovs. are. all deepensd in us by the affiictionr of life. With a deep insight into human nature Virgil makes the unhappy Dido say. Not ignorant of misfortunes. learn to commiserate the wretched." We real ize the miseries of othern only by go. ing through the fires of suffering our selves. Those who have never had severe sorrows are generally lacking in the power of feeling pity and sym pathy for others who have been un- f0rtupAt~"
 Turn. for a moment. to tho Divine Sufferer. "the Captain of our saIvs- tion.. who was maoe perfect through suffertnR." of whom we are told that "though He was Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suf- fered." Are we tempted to believe our Heavenly Father is indifferent to our pain and suffering, indifferent Co us, His children? Oh. no! for He takes them upon Himsoif in the Person Of His Son. Jesus Christ, our Lord. and Elder Brother. Now. our suffering. we musr confesa. is often caused by our sins; is due. largely 10 vur own wiifufness and seie-indulgence. But in spite Of that God does not leave us to bear 1t utterly alone, Tor He Himself shares ft with us. Above all. He teaches us end helps us turn 1t to good account, and 90 becomes better men and women. Thus God ip effect is making us see that He Is not indif- ferent to our sorrows As the Incar- nate Soa. He becomes "the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief" taking our infiruities. bearing our sick ness, shouldering our burdens. We wrestis with pain of body. Did He not expose Himself to it7 We writns under distress of mind. Did He not experience it7 In c word. did He not plunge into the midst of the worlds sufYerings? Certainly He suffered. Cor tainiy, with Him pain was a reality unless Gods Holy Word is false. or unless He was guilty of prstense, and no Christian eouId believe thati
 Our next consideration Is: How shal we deal with pain and suffering? {? After all. that is the practical ques- ton. Answer 1t we must. sooner or later. Answer 1t whether we will or no Theorize as we may over the causes of pain. or it's nature. here 1e where the- ory ends and fact begins. For suffer ing comes Into our own lives as 1t comes into the lives of others around us. Surely our religion teaches and our experience varifes the truth. that the only way to deal with suffering. pain. Is: to alleviate 1t. remove 1t. or use it heipfuiIy. There Is much suf- fering In the world which cannot be removed. of course. but it can be re- lieved. soothed. We do so bv means of sympathy in word and act. or by cheer ing the sufferer with q sunny. hope ful presence. And the bodily pain of suffering may be aileviated by the care- full use of opiates and by anesthetics In surgical operations. Mark you. ! do not say we should always try to avoid pain. Far from II. Tor drugs may be used to such excess. and often are. that the light of the soul Is put out while the sense of pain is being de- stroyed. Recall our Savior on the Cross His action in this connection ip profoundly significant. He refused the myrrh. Why? Evidently because 1t would dull and cloud the senses. H" accepted the vinegar. Why? Evident ly because 1t would refresh and re- vive.
 Again. It is quite right to rernov" nain if possible We cannot believe that suffering in itself. is Gods will of course. 1t is plain that He uses it Taut If is abnormal. that is to say. V heIonps to a disordered state. for health and happiness are the normal rue; uur Savior himself recognized pain ana sur s~r,ng Many of His miracles were in order to relieve them. But. when suf Saring continues, we may well believe If is the Heavenly Fathers will we should bear it. Moreover. whatever the s,,rerinR--whether ill-health or be. reavement. whether prolonged or brief het us earnestly try to learn its mes sa ge and its meaning. Thereby: we may learn penitence, or faith. or fortituds or sympathy. Let us not ignore it. or reject it. or rebel against it. but strive our best and bravest to bear 1t in the right spirit. Yes, we should learn ever to ..glory in tribulations." as St. Paul says, "knowing that tribulations work eth patience and patience experience" and experience hope" Yes, let us pray for ourselves that even as Coos dear Son went not up to joy. but first N" suffered pain, so too may we bear pair and suffering in Ills Spirit and thus find them to be the path of Eternal