St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-01-29
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The Kinsraera
Of the Lord

+ jHO is my mother?" Is there
IVY an apparent harshness about
w these words of the Lord?
- = =: Does it suggest a rather
y y needless demeanor toward
L. ~ those of his own flesh and
blood? Once or twice before have his
words appeared almost ungracious
and severe. Woman, what have to
do with thee?" And then again: at
is not meet to take the childrens
bread and give it to dogs" And the
extraordinary thing is this, that all
these seeming businesses are con-
cerned with women. That in itself is
sufficient to show us that we are on
the wrong track. The seeming harsh
| ness is of our own making. 1t was not
present in the Lord. We have not
apprehended his tone and his spirit,
and so we misconstrue his words. It
Is possible to give an accurate report
OF mans words and yet by the tone
in which we pronounce them we may
absolutely distort their meaning. A
false tone can make accurate words
untrue. 1t is even so with the words
of the Master. We can read our own
tones into his words and they sound
ungracious. We protrude ourselves,
and we see ourselves reflected. We
may depend upon it, whenever our
Saviour seems callous we are inter
preting him through the film of our
own moods. Whatever the words of
my text may mean, they are most as
suredly suffused in love and tender
ness and grace. 1t was the farthest
thought from the Masters mind to
depreciate his mother; he was only
seeking to reveal everybody as with
in the circle of his infinite love.
The True ,kinship.
1t Is therefore clear that In our
Masters estimate Of things. blood re-
iations are far from being the most
vital and influential of our kinships.
There are no strangers like those who
frequently live together in the same
house. There are no CUFFS compar-
able to those which divide the chill
dren of the same blood. How rarely
the home conversation goes down into
the deeps, or away up into the
heights! How rarely the family cir
Gle gathers it's intercourse round
about the Lord, and holds communion
concerning the things of God! Is it
not true that the ordinary life of the
ordinary family is exceedingly super
fetal, and it's speech is far more con-
cerned with gossip than with gospel,
and the deep, secret things of life are
discarded or ignored? 1t seems as
though blood relations find it i'm
mensely difficult to share the deepest
secrets. How often have / heard
young fellow say of his father: II
cannot speak to him about it," And
how often have / heard young girl
say that she could not take her moth
err into her confidence! Blood seems
to be barrier, and on the profound
est things of life it acts as minister
of estrangement. And so, think, it
true that we have commonly to go
outside our family circle for spiritual
communion. Inside the house the re-
lationships are only skin-deep: for
the heart-depths we must seek else
where.
Secret Of the Best kinship.
The grades of kinship seem to be-
long to the following levels: There
is, first of all, physical kinship, which
is merely matter of blood. The kins-
men are one in name, one In nature,
one in a common descent. AS / have
already said. this may be nothing but
skin-relationship, and there is no
commerce in the spirit. Then there
is social kinship, man meeting with
man for purposes of business, table
talk, conviviality, and the thin pleas
ures of common life. Then there is
mental kinship, which leads us lit
tie way into the deeps. Here there Is
common thought, common ideals, COM
mon conviction, and such relation
ship leads to the formation of clubs
and societies, the establishment of
parties and sects. Deeper still there
Is moral kinship. where the relation is
constituted of the ardors of a COM
mon crusade, and the fellowship of
sacred endeavor. But lastly, and fun
damentally, there is spiritual kinship,
in which the deepest secrets are
shared; in which there is communion
Of desire and aspiration; where COM
mon faith Is found. and common
hope, and common love. All other re-
lationships become pale before this
This is the kinship Of souls, and in its
rare intimacies we discover the finest
delights This is the sort of kinship
which every soul is privileged to have
with the Lord. We can be related 20
him at the very springs of our being
Fostered by Obedience.
Now my text tells me that this pro-
found kinship with the Lord is foster
ed by obedience to the will of God.
To do the will begets and assures the
kinship. Now see what this implies.
If am to do the will of God and be-
come one of the intimate relations of
Christ, must know what the will is.
How am l to know? By seeking for