The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-02-07
ERDREPUBcAN CITY, UTAH. MONDAY
FACING REALITIES,
IS PASTORS TOPIC
Church Affords This 0pportu-
nifty During the Lenten
Season.

Rev. Charles Z. Perkins, pastor of St.
Pauls church, spoke Sunday morning on
Face to Face With the Realities of
Life taking for his text l Corinthians
xiii:12: For now we see through a glass,
darkly; but then face to face" He said
in part:
1.-THE evergreen of the Christmas and
Epiphany season is replaced by the viO-
let of the Lenten season. which begins
this week. Thus our joys are sObered.
Lest we make of Christmas merely a pa
gan celebration, this is preceded by Ad-
vent, with its call of seriousness, and
now we have come again to the Lenten
season.
1T is not a season for the affecting
of ones soul, nor the long-facedness anu
hanging of ones head as a bulrush. 1t
is a season, however, when We stand face
to face with the realities of life. 1t is
a time of refreshment. for deep heart
searchings and for loving deeds.
THE eulogIum of love, from which our
text is taken, was written by a man sub
ject to like passions as ourselves. He,
too, had his enemies, as he thought, and
called upon them the wrath of his God.
But in this passage we see him at his
best. He here tells US how we may best
understand each other, the problems of
self and life, and come unto the knOWl-
edge of our God. That access is through
the love which God himself has revealed
unto men in Christ.
1T is a very narrow circle whom you
and l understand. 1t is those we love.
For only through this vision can we see
face to face. In this manner Christ drew
men unto him. For in them he saw the
capacities of humanity for great achieve
ment To this he ever appealed, and
the result was seen in renewed life and
power. As we serve our fellows in the
spirit of love we reveal ourselves to them
and they are revealed to us.
Doubtless St. Paul had in mind above
all things else the seeing of ones own soul
face to face. Adversely, bereavement
loss of wealth and health some times 19
real self. Shall we, like the prodigal,
wait until we have wasted our substance
in riotOus living before we quit ourselves
like men? Shall we not rather heed the
cEurch's call to a serious consideration
Of G Goo 'S'-i'i'' u ' u
Face to face with God is a stern re-
ality which some day each man must
consider. Shall he wait until he finds
himself upon the shores of eternity? Why
should he? He need not do so. To those
who think the church has no service, let
me say if she had no other task than
TO bring men face to face with the re-
task And this she does when she right
" uses the Lenten season. The first les
son read on the morning OF Ash we'd
nesday, found in the fifty-eighth chapter
of Isaiah, affords us the call to true
Ienten service. I beg you to read that
chapter. It is this that the church calls
on you to do.
How shall the small matters of life
become insignificant when one faces these
words and this task in seriousness? Yet,
l would ask you to view it in the light
of ST. Pauls eulogium of live. Inen you
will see i'm the mirror less dimly face
to face with your own soul, with your
fellows, and get some vision Of God
which will help nightly to redeem this
old world"