The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-09-29

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The GOD OF THE r,D,

Text. II am come to send g..
earth Luke xii. ~. D IRE upon q
See the disciples start. No.
the Prince Of Peace arsa sss'
Queer teaching. FIRES tho .s O'al
death. not life. The world sas0s '' :.
horror at San Francisco's bols wy
Mothers earliest aamolitiou 10 ' y.
dren Is not to play with matches y. y
clang Of the iron throatsd fro ~
the night arouses man In terror NY
die ages put the devil in a,,th.,.
lake OF fire; Dante describes thos.
fernal regions in bloodcurdling s,r,'
Dore sketches them with l,viI , %
II the devil is ruler of the roc I,u'a
fire. how strange to read that on, u -
is God of fire. Isn't thar m o, us
ally? No. Fire is the chosen sin a'a'
God from flaming sword at paradis.
flaming tongues at Pentecost. Fv,"
new epoch initiated with fire pill
fire in wilderness; fire at dedeatio.
tabernacle; Shekinah fire burning o.s
t1nually in temple. The figure is Woo
into our daily speech. Ardent nam,.
enthusiasm that kindles. passions ~.
burn. We complain of GOODNESS r.,
serve. cold manner.
No vegetation above timber linz
Pixies peak-toO cold. 1.-THE uttar =
sence Of heat and life in the a,oS.
makes our existence intolerabler AZ
serves hansen. All animal and Won.
table life depends on fire and bea, +.
creation and development. Flovs,,
bees. birds. mankind. thrive in n.
sun. Say. auntie." call to the an
black nanny working in her garden
why don't you plant your garden q.
this side the house? Then us white folk,
could see it from the road" "Humnh,
she grunts. "some preachers got ~
ligion N not much else Mawnin' sn,
straks this pooh an in de aftanoon d
1owah bed. Nuthin' grows on that
nawth side. Groun's too cold. Seed,
got to have wa'mth to grow" The sun
shines. blossoms come. harvest Geld,
bow their heads with golden grain
orchard branches weighted with fruit
know church that needs warmth
Chill of wOrldliness is there. Sermon,
are beautiful. but it's the frigid beauty
of winter landscape. Affairs are there
but fires, are out. Wish some Elijah
would challenge them to prove tho
God that answereth by fire." A cook
stove In the church basement doesn't
always mean spiritual warmth.
Fire Means Testing.
Know Americas greatest extrava
gance apart from drink? Fire! Last
year more than half the value Of all
the years building. Millions go up IN
smoke. LOSS covered by insurance
Never! Any more than lost sleep or
lost years can be recovered. But while
fire destroys it reveals much. When
the quake and fire were over in Frisco
what revelations! Vanity and dis
honesty in building lay bare. Pre-.
tentious ornament and fimsy construc.
ton everywhere. "Say, Jim, see that
man going there? That's Smith, the
builder. All his buildings stood"
There's a eulogy! I'd rather be Smith
than commander of a battleship fleet
Chinatown had cleansing. first time
in fifty years. Stand at the kiln door
Of Trenton pottery. why do you need
such heat?" ITO bake the impurity
out of the clay" peer in at the men
moving like figures in Dante's Infer.
no" at SteeltOn. "Why such great
blast furnaces?" mo steel without
removal of baser metals and alloys
Fire either changes or destroys.
Beacon Fires of Triumph.
II came to bring sword" say
Christ. Sometimes it's the fire Of
battle. There's a time Of war and
time of peace" says Solomon. "wa'
is hell" indeed, but many move
ment for the betterment Of humanity
has gone forward on powder cart
Many a fearful wrong has been stop
ped only by fire and sword. The rec
ord Of the sixties tells when surrende'
Of Lee was announced throughout lne
north. and many portions of the Sou'.
peace fires were lighted. Men anu
women shed tears of Joy about them
No more cannons belching forth nre
no more rife barrels splitting tongue,
of name. Now only campnres y.
peace. Two years later England wa
burning beacon fires of jubilee IN ao 9,
or Of her queen. From Malvern nn
the signal was given; in eight minute
It flashed from every hill all the wa
to the lake country in Cumperlan.
II Christ came to bring fire ana
sword He also. came to bring peace :,
when Christ went home the nre e., "
the Spirit was flung earthward. M !,
died In upper room at Jerusalem, - !
soon spread through the city. then :. ~
dea and Samaria. Presently ASA - :,
nor was blazing through that o.ns ,
firebrand. Paul, the Christian. Hvo ~ :
the sparks Az, across the arenipela;St,
into Macedonia, then into Greece * ;,
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