The Point Pleasant register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) 1909-1939, 1910-11-23
Make Use Of
Your Gifts
By REY. AsNEs h. lucas D. d.

OG@sA90
Text-And he said. leave Us not. I pray
thee. for as much as thou knowess how
We are TO encanp IN the wilderness. and
Mum. io:sL
What more glorious use q be
made Of knowledge. influence. and per
sonal strength than to turn them 10
the help of the needy? II your vision
is penetrating and clear. what nohler
service a you render then to -oe
eyes" for those who may not see
afar! II your hand has strength and
cunning. to what better use may Il
be turned than lifting the burdens
OF the weak and teaching the unslrill-
ed how best to accomplish. their task!
II you have wealth you have poe
session OF q power for good which 10
nearly o~nnipotent. II rightly applied.
What more worthy aim can lead men
and women OF wealth than that
through their help the poor may catch
visions Of the highest and hottest lief
II we have the gift OF prophecy. We
must use 1t for the instruction OF tho
ignorant, II We retain II. To hesitate
is tnglorfously to fail: selishly to
keep. for ourselves what God has In
stended shall serve his children, Is to
lose life With all its opportunities OF
good. Hobab's knowledge and iDlu.
ence never were more precious to him
than when. having refused the appeal
to enrich himself, he accepted the op-
p~ortunity to assist others. As the new
dangers arose. and he helped Moses
meet them and conquer them. his W
mind and soul grew imperial. By the
number. magnitude. and stress Of the
responsibilities OF others, he was de-
veloped into his own worthiest life.
When a great Italian commander was
defeated he issued his immortal ap-
peal: Soldiers, I am without money
and without reward. I have nothing
to offer you but cold and hunger, and
rags and hardship. Let him who
loves his country follow me" But
with that summons to self-denfal and
patriotism he gathered to his side
the choicest souls Of his generation.
The men who followed IN response to
that appeal became courageous
heroes themselves. When our Lord
turned and said to the multitude,
The Son of mar hath not to where
to lay his head, and invited them to
follow him. he was calling 10
men and women who had counted the
cost. and were ready to surrender
themselves to the cause OF purity,
truth. and human %helpfulness. The
way OF life Is narrow; the gate to 1t
is narrow; but the narrowness OF the
way and the gate are its glory. Mar
rowness OF the way demands energy.
high purpose and nc5ie perseverance.
There is no other way. To invite a
great soul to a broad path is to invite
him to smallness. to the cessation OF
growth and impotence. The cry has
been heard in every age. Would God
It were easier to be good" And
would God It were easier TO redeem
the earth" But that Is q mistaken
cry. When the ten spies returned
from Canaan murmuring because OF
the obstacles to their conquest, their
murmuring was an evidence OF weak.
ness Of character; but the cry OF Ca.
leb and Joshua was, up. let us CON
Quer these giants. and take their
walled cities" That was the token OF
the greatness Of the two.
Jesus Christ did not come primarily
to change the circumstances that
should make life easy, but to give a
new incentive and lofty inspiration
that would enable men to meet LIES
circumstances as they are. He never
promised his friends that the path OF
duty should be free from danger. In
the spirit Of the Spartan mother VITO
charged her soldier son. Come home
with your shield or on it." Christ says
to his disciples. Take the field and
save humanity. cost what It may" 1t
is always true that the choice OF the
broad path Of personal ease and COM
fort, instead Of the narrow path OF
duty, leads to the loss OF self.respect,
the worlds esteem, and true
Sir Henry Stanley describes bravery
as a requisite for those who push into
the African forest, and says: The
bigger the work the greater the joy of
doing It. The whole-hearted striving
and wrestling with difficulty to lay
hold with a firm grip and level head,
and the calm resolution of the mon
ster, and tugging and toiling and
westling at It today. tomorrow, and
the next, until it is done-is the sol.
dier's creed of forward, ever forward;