Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1910-08-17
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The
Requirements
of God

4 NN NOuu-tdhluk IOT my
- y text the message OF God to
the church In Laodicea. BE
cause thou art lukewarm. and neither
hot nor cold, l will spew thee out OF
my mouth Hot. the first choice:
cold. the second: one thing or an.
other: for or against: out In the open
with God. or out In the open against
him.
| have often thought OF doing this.
out as yet have found no time. writes
Rev. Francis b. Upham. ID. D., In the
Christian Herald. ! have series on
hand that will take all my skill and
energy for at least fifty years more.
nave often thought of paying my re-
spects-under the inspiration. | trust.
OF the Spirit OF God--to the lazy man
who occasionally comes to hear me:
pleading with him to get up and 20
where he belongs: TO do and dare
II may be for the devil. his master.
rather than do or dare nothing for
anybody.
For. brethren. there's nothing that
stirs me more than laziness based
upon commercial cowardice-the cold
blooded estimate OF requirement. and
reward from n personal standpoint
only; nothing that seems to me more
foreign to the spirit OF well-nigh reck-
less sacrifice that is in the very heart
OF the Christian character. For the
lazy man ever makes his defense. He
did so In the time OF our Lord. and he
does so now. He has the temerity to
seek To Justify himself-temerity is
the word | use today; talk to me TO-
morrow about this out on the street
and I'll use another. He thinks. as
did the shirker In that parable OF the
talents, that he should be commend.
ed for his wisdom. II knew thee"
said the servant in this old classic
story-"I knew thee that thou art n
hard man. and I was afraid and went
and hid thy talent in the earth; 10.
there thou hast that is thine"
Afraid! May God forgive him,
Afraid!-and coolly says SO! May God
pity him! Afraid, and thinking that
cowardice can ever be accepted AZ an
excuse! May the good Lord lead him
into the light!
God Wants More Than He Gave.
God wants from man more than he
gave to him. He gave him Iife-he
wants IT back again; he gave him
heart power, brain force, the will to
conceive and create; he asks for all
these gifts and graces to be returned.
and. with them. gifts and graces that
they have gathered for themselves.
noN r.
cannot handle black pitck without be-
Ing defled." said an old minister not
long ago to younger one. THAT may
be-" was the answer. but this gem
was In the pitch. and the main thing
was not whether my hands were clean.
but whether or not they were empty"
Right you are" said rough old
class leader who heard the conyersa.
ton. Next to having the marks of
the atoning blood upon my hands. I'd
like the scars and the stains that
come through the attempt to save a
sinner from his wretchedness."
It's the shine upon the silver. the
purity that suggests the shelter ont
OF sight, the nest I'm the napkin. that
stirs the Indignation of the Master.
He wants his own with what his own
should win. He wants you with the
men you might rescue from misery.
His Love Unknown to Many.
The sin OF inactivity, let me say. in
the second place, is based upon a mis-
conception OF Gods character. "T
know thee" said the servant, that
thou art hard mana hard man.
reaping where thou hast not sown.
and gathering where thou hast not
strewed." But was her He gave TO
the servant a good start In life-a
good share OF his own property. He
gave to him absolute freedom and un-
limited opportunity. Il was to a FAR
country" that he went, and Il was not
until after a long time" that he re-
turned. He took into consideration
his native capacity. To each one he
gave according TO his several ability"
to the brilliant man, FIVE talents: To
the man OF average ability. two; and
TO the poor fellow who had never done
much, and OF whom little should be
required, one. He was ready with a
hearty welcome. The man who
brought back two talents heard the
same CHEEKY commentator that the
man had won FIVE talents heard. The
man OF one talent might have heard
the same. And yet. the servant calls
the Master" a hard mani"
SO say, God IL not known. His
thoughts, his love- his tender interest
I'm the small details OF even a petty
life, are no more known TO many OF
us than the divine deliberation before
the fall. Even the saints know not
God. Men who have centuries Of the
activity OF Jesus Christ to learn from.
men who have their own Christian ex.
perience, read their New Testament