St. Tammany farmer., 1910-09-03
Jacob b'sWrestline
With God
BY Rev. w. H. Carwardine, Humboldt
Park Methodist Church, Chicago
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"The elder brother had become the
head Of wild, rowing and indomitable
race Of people. The younger brother
had been a wanderer, but had gather
ed about him, by industry and shrewd
trading. large fortune. Now, with
his herds, servants and family he is
moving back to the country Of his
early days. News is brought that Esau
Is coming to meet Jacob, and in fear
the latter imagines that there is still
hatred in his heart. He seeks to pro-
pitiate his brother with magnificent
gifts, sends his flocks and family over
the brook and beside the still waters
of Jabbok he has the struggle of his
life
Jacobs wrestling with the angel is
the struggle Of soul with, his God.
Jacob was a racemaker. He had suf-
fered in many ways by his fraud, per-
petrated on Esau. But Jacob was the
of character and intellect was better
fitted for the birth-right and the pres.
tige which it gave him than was Esau
The result was an illustration of the
survival Of the flttest.
Man must suffer for the evil he has
done, but he can rise superior to the
mistakes and blunders of his youth.
IF there had been no hope for Jacob
after the duplicity and deceit Of his
earlier life, largely the result Of an
overweening fondness of mother for
her favorite child, then there would
be no hope for vast number of good
men in this life. But there must come
the time Of struggle. with its bitter
tears ' and It's fear and anguish.
Through deep waters Of mental and
physical anguish, mans better nature
comes to the front and he rises to
higher ideal. All souls that have
wrought good to the world have had
the storm and stress of struggle Woe
ia the man who has evaded this strug.
gle, whose courage failed him at the
crucial moment, who ran from the
angel of his better self and let slip
the golden opportunity to win the self.
victory.
"Evade the struggle and degenera.
/. tion sets in. Degeneration Is a terri.
tble force, as inevitable as the laws of
the universe. The uncultivated field
returns to weeds. Flowers and fruit
degenerate If not cared for The
change consequent on neglect is al
ways for the worse. What we call
the dregs of society contains men who
once had chance and have settled to
the bottom Of the social mass If neg
lected physically he becomes dehu-
manized. If neglected mentally, he
lapses into imbecility. If neglected
spiritually, he becomes hardened to-
ward God and things divine. 1t is
not the dreamers and seers of visions
who have played the great part in the
worlds drama. It is rather the strug-
glers and wrestlers who have wrought
out the great things for humanity.
When on the morrow Jacob had fought
his battle and had halted upon his
thigh, he had crossed the Jabbok a
new man. He had crossed his spiritual
Rubicon and had burned the bridges
behind him and went out to new lHe
"Tell me thy name!' cried this man
In the night struggle to the angel. It
was the demand of the soul for an an
swer to the mystery OF deity and
things holy. It Is the mystery of all
things that touch on Immortality and
the eternal verities. What is the an
swer to the demands of the soul?
What Is the answer to the inquiry of
my heart and my intellect as con-
corning the things that lie out so mys-
teriously beyond the ken of human
conception. All men in greater or less
degree have this demand of the inner
nature for an answer to the deep rid
die of life and the future. -.
"The answer to Jacob came by pray
er. Physically he was crippled for
life, but his loss was his strength. In
his weakness he had received the
greatest blessing of his life When
man battles truly with God he will be
defeated as to his pride and his self
glory, but he will be victor in the soul
strength that makes for a nobler life.
Better to lose some things than to lose
ones spiritual power. There are soma
scars that are worth having Either
the devil will inflict scars or God will
Better to carry about you the scars of
the Almighty than those Of the evil one.
The old veteran who marched in the
parade last Monday may have had the
wounds of battle on his body, but they
were honorable wounds and gained in
just struggle. Out of the scars and
smitings Of life's struggle comes the
beatifcation of noble upliftings.
Necessity drove this man to his
knees. When we feel that the aven-
ger is on our path, when the precipice
yawns beneath our feet, when the sin
Of lifetime is about to be revealed,
when hope dies out and out last re-
source is cut of, then it is that some
men think of God. Sorrows and aff1ic-
tions drive many men to God. There
was time when we loved to choose
our own way and did not pray that
God should lead us on. Thank God
then that He hears our prayer. Not
all men are led this way. But some
are, and it Is good to know that the
ear of the eternal is not deaf to our
entreaty, nor His arm shortened that
He cannot help. @as