Evening journal., 1910-12-02
EPwORTH LEAGUE DEVOTIONAL
MEETING.
December 4, "The Heart of the Cos.
pei. Zech. is; i, 2; John 5. i4-16.

pei. Zech. is; i, 2, John s; i4-16.
The Cross stands for cleansing. for
love and for ultimate triumph.
The old, old story OF salvation is
Just as new to-day as when Il was first
proclaimed to sinful mankind; it be-
gan to be foretold when the world was
young-before Eden was a memory toI
our first parents. for God did not allow
the Devil to get his innings and 20
on satisfied of final victoryl
The testimony OF multitudes made
4 pure and clean through the blood of
Calvary proves that the old, old story
, is yet new.
The prophet, Zechariah, had a vision
OF what was to come to pass; he said,
lt shall come to pass that in that
day, saith the Lord of Hosts, that l
Will cut of the names of the idols out
OF the land, aDd they shall no more
be remembered. Isarel was to be
eleansed from idolatry. We need II
to-day! Whatever we place above
our love to God, be sure He will re-
move It In His own good time, be it
love OF money, craving Of position or
power OF the love Of those whom we
have right to love but not to wor-
ship. He breaks our idols to our
faces and sometimes this cleansing
! process nearly breaks our hearts. as
well. God wants us to be happy:
He takes nothing from us that Is
necessary to our happiness, only we
mistake the meaning OF happiness
True happiness consists in being
united to God and realizing as Santa
Teresa puts It, Whom God possessetb
in nothing is wanting; alone God suf
nceth." Some Of US have TO suffer
long and weary years before we
reach this state of contentment. but
until we do, He continues to remove
our iools' one by one, saying, Lowest
tnou me more than these?" The love
ana sympathy OF friends makes life
enduraole under any circumstances.
Inc poet says, THE light of whole
lie dies when love is done;" we can
not imagine being who does not love
George Macdonald says. Love is the
hold which God has on us by His right
hand, while death is the hold which
He has on us by His left" Love and
death are alike inevitable, but dear
as is the love Of friends 1t often fails
TO reach the case. Our friend is too
busy or grows weary of our appeals
for sympathy; then, the sympathy
may be withdrawn because Of a feel
ing that the petition comes from lack
Of self-relisnce or from self-pity. when
perhaps If the friend understood the
burdens, those hidden as we'll as those
expressed, this censure would die on
his lips.
The love Of God is beyond suspicion
ing wrong motives because it is all
wise as we'll as broader than the
measure of mans mind" God so
loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son"-here is renunciation.
1t cost the Father something to give
up the companionship of His Son: It
must have cost Him infinitely more to
witness the rejection Of His Son and
His cruel death by the consent Of His
own peoplei
This love which the cross stands for
has in it the elements OF sacrifice, Of
patient suffering and of submission to
the point Of an unjust death. Christ
gave up the society Of angels to preach
the gospel to the poor. The suffer-
ing which His humanity naturally
sustained from the lack Of food, the
loss Of sleep, the fatigue Of long
journeys, the thoughtlessness Of the
crowd, who from curiosity OF seeking
personal favors pressed upon Him,
must at times have been intense.
Then, think Of the injustice He suf-
fered! How we hate 10 see injustice
meted out even to a strangerl How
the cruel treatment of Dreyfus a few
years back stirred the entire world!
How indignation rose to the white
heat OF war when Cuba was oppressed
by Spainl Everywhere mans in
humanity to man is frowned upon. We
fight for our rights; It is animals
instinct as we'll as mans reason to
protest for his rights. When did Jesus
assert His rights? When did He pro-
claim Himself Prince Of Peace?" "He
was led as a lamb to the slaughter
and as sheep before its shearers is
dumb, so he opened not his mouth
submission even to the point of unjust
death!
The cross stands for ultimate
triumph. Not always will 1t be a
standard for suffering.
No, when we stand before the great
white throne and see the One who
renounced the throne, the sceptre, the
Il