Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1910-07-21
Views Afeet ais
uNMEAsURED OPPORTUNITY

II
UNMEASURED OPPORTUNITY
The human heart is growing kinder
and more charitable and its ideals
purer and nobler Slowly, almost
imperceptibly-w are learning the
meaning of the new commandment
that we love one another. And the
Rejected One, who gave it, is being
exalted in the hearts of men.
Still, most men believe that the
Church, which is the bride awaiting
her Lords RETURN has become ena-
mored of other lovers, broken her
plighted VOWS of unceasing fidelity,
and gone grievously astray.
Perhaps no one should accuse, since
no one is qualified for such high office.
Still the Kingdom of God is in the
hearts of men, where the Christian
standard is now being raised; and in
the hearts of men the faithless bride is
being harshly judged.
Through human frailty and pride
and seltishness, the Church has become
hopelessly divided and sub-divided.
The gospel of love and goodwill has
been lost to sight in the blur of creed
and dogma. Christianity has become
a matter of what men believe, not what
men are. And because men are mar.
row and of many minds, the church
has been torn into innumerable frag-
ments. Yet Christ commanded, "Be
ye one.'
That the followers of Christ should
not bear malice toward one another;
that the first test of the Christian is
what he is, rather than what he be-
lieves; that the energy of the church
should not be expended in useless COM
petition among its rival branches, as
if they We're so many mercenary insti-
tutions; that man-made "isms" and
doctrines have largely supplanted the
Sermon on the Mount and the gospel
which the Apostles preached to every
creature; these are some of the things
that we are now beginning to see.
The true Christian is the culmina-
ton of Gods work of creation He is
Gods masterpiece. He is the ideal
man, since we know no ideals of life
and conduct higher or nobler than
those of Christ. He is man spiritualized
and triumphant over his bestial nature
Perhaps to make one of him would
Justify the existence of the Church,
and to Christianize the race would be
its transcendent glory. Still, we can
dimly see that this work is in nowise
facilitated by the hundreds of petty
divisions within the Church itself,
which tend to engender jealousy, strife
and bitterness of heart
When the divergent branches begin
to draw together and to work in har-
mony and love, the Church will forget
its present weakness aud become strong
again for its intended work. When
followers of opposing faiths will forget
their man given tenet, subdue their
own rt-burnings and uncharitable-
ness, and learn to love one another as
SAAAoV1eSA OlCUl1ClA Uucu Will
be time enough and power enough to
evangelize the world and redeem the
human race from the bondage of sin.
One cannot help noting that nearly
all of those beneficent works which
really ought Of right to be done by the
4 Church, are in these times otherwise
I provided for. The relief of suffering
and distress is mainly in other hands
or neglected. The extirpation of the
deadly vices, which have fastened
themselves upon us, is being slowly ac.
: complished, mainly by special agencies
: not connected with the Church. The
2 worldwide peace movement, which
= looks to the abolition Of the scourge of
= war; does not originate in the Church.
And even the slow purging of mems
hearts of the brute impulses and pas
sions is coming about, it seems, by
outside means.
Yet it is not a case of the Church's
neglecting wholly to do its bounden
. duty. Rather, it has done and is doing
some good work, but much less than it
ought to be doing; and even this
seems only half-hearted at times at the
; best. Still, it is not really just to criti-
, else the Church for not doing more
good, when it has already done SO much
} more than any other agency or institu-
ton that can be named among men.
Hon. 81. +. Andrews has laid in a
good supply of extracted honey for