The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-12-07
RY wILLIAM T. ELLIsl

CBY WILLIAM T ELLIS)
| This seemingly childish topic is cho-
| sen out Of a great piece of literature.
| In one of the sublinest passages in
| the Book OF Job, Jehovah addresses
/ Job out of the whirlwind. and puts to
| him a series of unaswerable questions
| concerning the mysteries of nature.
/ The creation of earth and heavens,
the setting of bounds for the sea, the
march of the morning, the stately pro-
| cession Of the seasons, the mysteries
of life and death-an the inscrutable
unceasing, "Why2 How are pro-
founded In the course of its majestic
reasoning the argument runs Hast
thou entered the treasures of the
snow?' The point of the whole pas
sage is the greatness of God and the
limitation of man. The lesson is one
for our own time. The twentieth cen
fury is obsessed with a sense of its
own might We are so vain of our
achievements that some of US think
we can get along without a super
natural revelation, and without an
infinite God. creating and overrulfng
all. This ancient piece Of literature
reminds even US moderns how many
and elemental are the subjects which
battle our wisdom The lesson the
snow is childhood's lesson, written as
the first words of the Bible-''In the
beginning, Goa All mysteries nave
their solution in Him
If creation be of design, then a
divine providence becomes inevitable.
The power of gentleness and multi
piled Titles is written large upon the
snow. Wind and rain and blistering
heat may struggle in vain to stay the
progress of modern man; but silently,
softly the snowflakes fall, and, 10, all
the movements of commerce and
travel are stilled, as if bound by iron
bands The great railway and the
humble pedestrian alike confess the
power of the snow Human skill has
not yet found a way to BATTLE the su-
preme might of the snowstorn. Great
ness does not always buster or vaunt
it's strength
The cold snow is natures blanket
the nursing wheat What a paradox
it is that the frozen snow saves from
freezing. When we come to think
of it. however. there are many cold
misfortune is often truest riches
Suffering in estate is sometimes sal
walton in soul The tears of grief
water love As snowstorms cause the
sheep to huddle together. SO the
storms of life often drive US close to
our brother man, in helpfulness and
fellowship. God sends the snow, and
God sends sorrow; and both are de-
signed as means of growth and bless
ing.
Beneath a covering of snow, even
an ash heap, or a tumbledown shanty,
may take on lines of beauty. All the
imperfections of a landscape are en-
velOped in the loveliness of the snow.
Thus the mantle of charity covers
life. It turns the ugly into the fair,
the misshapen into symmetry, and
sees good in every thing.
All of inanimate nature has a mes
sage for life The snow may teach
lessons for human hearts And they
are wise with a deep wisdom who go
through life perceiving the deeper
meanings of the world about them
God loves beauty He takes de-
light in loveliness of form and color
As He made all things for His pleas
ure, so He carpeted the fields which
no mortal foot ever has trodden with
fair flowers, and filled the graceful
branches of trees unseen of man with
singing birds. and made the sunrises
glorious on the desert. How much
beauty there is in the earth which
nobody but God ever sees. And He
who paints pictures in the snow is
not unmindfuI of beauty in His high
est creation, the lives of His chill
dren- God delights in fair souls.
loneliness of character is better
pleasing in His eyes than the light
that shines on land and sea The
beauty of holiness is the most ac-
ceptable offering which His creation
can make unto Him
The wisdom of the Book of Job
surprises and delights us. Yet we
know more than Job concerning some |
things Job never saw a snowflake, |
in all its perfection and wonder and /
intricacy of form, underneath a mi /
croscope- The skill of the Divine Ar
tisan whom we call Nature is greater /
than mortal mind can grasp. On earth /
as in heaven, God is doing more for I
US than we understand
The brass band has its place in life |
but il is not in competition with the /
snowstorm- The silence of the snow I
as swirling. eddyinS. flying. scurrying- |
il Softlv falls 10 earth. is nerhan.s its