Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-02-24
THE NARROW WAY TO A BROAD
LIFE.
The international Sunday School Les
son for February 81 is "False and
True DiscipIeship." Matt. z: 1923.
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

dining car; one was loud-voiced, i'll
bred. brazen and self-confldent. The
other was auieter After the noisy one
had expressed himself with terse final
ity upon many other subjects, the mat
ter of religion arose-as it usually
does arise when men talk long enough
together. The man with the voice and
the huge Masonic charm said he was
Catholic, but that he didn't take much
stock in it; that there was really no
difference between Catholics and Prot
estants, and religion was for women
anyway Then he went on to explain
his stumbling deeper into the
enire of ignorance at every sentence.
His Protestant companion assented,
knowing as little, apparently, as the
ptarer, but because he made less noise
he seemed not quite so much of
donkey.
That conversation was an exaggerat-
eHtype of the latitudinarianism of the
nay. Men pride themselves on travel
mgea broad" way Their ideas upon
ptherrsuhjects than sport and business
are vague and ineKact. They do not
know how to think things through;
and, what Is worse they do not seem
Ito care to learn. 1t could be shown
that, on the plane of intellect alone,
THE popular broad way leads to mental
destruction Equally is it so on the
plane of pleasure seeking; the undis-
terminating and unfastidious pursuit Of
pleasure ends in early safety and jad-
edness. Still more Is this true of the
deeper concerns of the spirit.
Says Mary M. Vurrier:
THE way is narrow? Ay, but think
how wide
,The fields it leads to. Wide as hope
are they.
Into a larger life the path will guide
What matter, then, If narrow be the
way!"
Straitened Men as Natlon-Builders.
1t is fashionable to. sheer at the
Pilgrims and Puritans as narrow men:
yet if we today have the advantage of
them in breadth they still have the adj
vantage OF us in depth Their con-
victions were established deeply and
on carefully dug foundations. Well
would it be for our time If we had
more of the straitened life-men who
know more of the glory of self denial
and of self control than Of the excuses
of self Indulgence. The intense rigor
and seriousness of their life made
item strong and tremendous. Through
the narrow gate they entered into
largeness Of soul
While civilization is learning to
think in world.terms, let us remember
that all the pioneer and conquering M
tions Of modern history have been ma
tions of positive faith 1t was a Bible
~ 4 trtr
of the seas, and mother of many ma
tions. It was when aflame with re
ligious zeal that Spain won her
colonial possessions; when her faith
grew dim, her colonies slipped away
one after the other The United States
and Canada have risen to new place
and power in the councils of nations
as they have displayed the Christian
qualities of their manhood. We may
venture to declare that it is through
the straitened souls of it's people thai
country comes to place of leader
snip in our time The supremely i'm
portant concern before America il
the religious faith of her men ant
women.
The Universal Test.
the hnal arguments upon the CUES
tion of religion are not in the cloister
ed studies of the theologians: bu
down amid the crowds of every day
The touchstone of Christianity, as indi
Gated by its Founder, is a simple test
Does it bear fruit of the expected
kind? A man does not have to know
Greek or Hebrew in order to test tn
fruits of the Christian religion Doe
Christianity produce, holy, helpful
brotherIy men and women? Does
make life sweeter, truer, nobler? Is
an uplifting or downpulling force il
society? Are there men and wome
who today are good who would be ba
II it were not for their loyalty t
Jesus?
That is common sense, as the teacl
ings of Jesus have a way of being
Apply the same test to our broad an
easy day-by-day materialism. Plac
that test as plumb-line against TT
practical atheism that is prevalen
Make 1t the standard whereby W
Judge the loose social order Of the da.
What sort Of showing does the la
moral code of our Wanted libers
new thought make in the presence {
this square edge? Judged by the san
and workable rule of Jesus. our mo,
ern life appears in "a light whic
should stir every thoughtful person
renewed earnestness.
With rare lucidity the teacher SCI
forth that all this is in. the nature
things. Each tree produces after 1
kind. AS is the root, so will be tt
fruit. So, ne pointed out, his is
heart religion The most importaI
fact about any man is the state of h
spirit-far more important than an
thing Dun's or Bradstreet's has to Sc
about him, Some folk who pric
themselves upon their hard-head'
practicability sheer at mysticism in I
ligion; why, the very essence and CO
of Christianity is mysticism, the seer
relation of the human spirit TO Go
There used to be widely sung a gosp
song. as 1t well with thy soul?" 1t
little used nowadays; we often
hear, Work, for the night is coming
D,,t 11,a vet CONG holds tho moro il