Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1911-06-08

Matthew 8. It,
One OF the greatest utterances OF
any age is the sermon on the mount.
IL was spoken to the disciples. There
is nothing In It directly addressed to
the unsaved. Christ is the light Of
the world. We understand that, yet
He says, "Ye are the light of the
world" There is really no discrep-
ancy here for we say the lamp lights
the room yet In reality 1t is the oil in
the lamp that gives the light There
Is In us no light by reason Of our be-
Ing, but still we/are the light of the
world. Christ is the light and we re-
fleet His light. We shine insofar as
we act so He can shine through us.
There are degrees in Christianity. One
light shines more brightly than an
other, according to the amount of oil
and general condition of the lamp. One
Christian shines more brightly than
another, according to the place he re-
serves for Christ in his life and the
character of life he lives.
We have the positive injunction that
Christians are to do everything in
their power to secure that their light
shine as brightly as possible.
We are to do this by the position
we take up. A lamp on the floor will
not give as much light as when sus-
pended from the ceiling. The Chris
tian position is the most exalted one
In tie world. All civilization is
caused by Christianity.
All learning that has ever benefited
the race has been fostered by Chris
tianity.
The fact that we are Christians
should give us more pleasure than
anything. We are not only individual
Christians, but we are members Of
society, and what affects society af-
fects us and vice versa
We shine by the character we form.
Character Is the most important thing
in the world. We may have great
wealth, but II we have not a wealth |
or character we are poor indeed. We |
may have all the polish society can
give us, but If We have not a brilliant |
character we shine very poorly. The |
world is demanding character as never |
before. To say nothing of religion,
the world at large demands that a |
man be possessed of a good character |
II he should hold position in their
directions. IL is so in businp IS, and |
becoming more and more so in pol |
tics. Eloquence has charmed its mil
lions, but there is no eloquence quite
so powerful as a good mans life. Some
men are remembered because of their
eloquence, but il there is also strong
manhood they are all the more I'm
mortal.
We Increase the brflliance of our
ives by the effort we put forth for the
conversion of others. 'Tis here that
many Christians exhibit practical self
shness or else they do not value their
'eligion very highly If it is what we
'laim for 1t then we should desire It
or all people
There is a negative side to this aues-
ion. We should remove everything
nat tends either to obscure or hide
'ur light, or which so affects il as to | ,
make 1t suggestive 81 ourselves rather
$3.50 VI oOu. II 10 uSutlly the small |
Kings that hide most effectively A
clubhouse keeper once lighted his !
sell-trimmed lamps. A few hours
alter he was notified that his light ,
'as out. On examination 1t was found
hat thousands of tiny insects had
overed the lamp. Surrounding some
us there is such a cloud of sin TIL
ne light II there be any cannot shine
through.
We should keep ourselves clean of z
II practical Inconsistencies. Incon. |
lstency is impenetrable. We should
void all self display. Many people
no profess to be Christians seem TO
hink 1t Is there first business to tell
eople OF 1t. If you are a Christian u
one knows it better than your near v
81 neighbor. 1t is not your preroga- y
We to glorify yourself, but God. The -
ost attractive style In writing is that n
mple style which leads one to think +
the subject matter rather than the b
yle Of the author. II
So the most beautiful and most Of. L
ctive Christian life is that one which Is
ads people to think not SO much OF -
e person, but of the Christ that IL ~
ling lived ~