The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-27
The Obligation to Serve

"Service is the law of the universe All things in heaven above. in earth beneath
 in waters under the earth serve. The sun in his shining, the stars in their oroits' the earth in it's motion, the sea In ns tossing the streams in their flowing, the flowers in their blooming, the orchards m their fruting, the grass in its growing are all serving The motto Of the Prince of Wales is Ich dien-1 serve. or course he serves. Everybody serves. It IS not a question of whether but whom. ihe base serve only themselves. But all that can be said of such is
 .. The man may last. but never lives, Who much receives. but nothing gives Whom none can love, whom none can thank,
 Creations blot, creations blank
 "A better kind of service is that which seeks the welfare of others. One of the l significant signs of the times is the gen | eral interest in sociology Ca new name has | been invented-'altruismD ! The thing sig nfled, however. is philanthrophy, love l for our fellow man. But even this is not
 the highest service There is only one ultimate fact. to-wit: God. No purpose IS supremely or absolutely right unless It terminates upon Him. We know God
 only as He has manifested Himself in Jesus Christ; to Whom Paul puts the Colossians in remembrance. saying fe serve the Lord Christ It is but another way of saving, The chief end of man Is to glorify God.
 Tn the Cologne cathedral there Is rude image of oak bearing the mark of extreme age. representing a giant with child upon his shoulder Who is this! asks the visitor. He is told, This Is or fero, the man in search or master Then Is related the story: Offero would serve only the mightiest. He offered him self to the greatest earthly king, and casion in the banquet hall, the name Satan was mentioned whereat the king turned pale and trembler. Why are thou fright ened. king? he asked. Because this is the prince of darkness, and he is mlghter than l. Then Offero went in search of the prince of darkness and found him | without difficulty. He entered his ser- | vice and all went well until one day they came to the cross roads where stood | crucifix. There Satan fell trembling l and refused 10 pass on Why art thou
 afraid? asked Offero. Because this is the | Christ who rules in heaven and suffered
 on the cross for man, and He is mlghtier l than L. Then Offero went in search of | Christ A barefoot friar said to him, If thou wilt do good as thou hast opportunity Christ will present Himself to you. The giant built himself a hut at the ford of
 
 deeds One dark night he heard q voice calling, Onero come and carry me over. He found a child awaiting him, lifted 1t upon his shoulders, and staff in hand, en- tered the word As he proceeded the
 winds blew fiercely and the waters rose about him, the burden on his shoulders grew heavier and heavier until Ii seemed to crush him. At length he reached the other shore. set down his burden and To! the Lord Jesus stood before him saying, ,Inasmuch as thou hast done it unto one
 of these least. thou hast done 1t unto
 Me. Offero had found the mightest, and therceforth devoted his life to Him.
 "Young men. l would not be true to the occa sion, while l am trying to inspire you to service, If did not urge your life's alleeiance to the young mans Christ. He is worthy of your love, your honor, your service forever more. You have seen, perhaps remarkable picture called The Conuuerors.' Here they come, Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon. Attla the sconrge. Boadlcen on battle steeds. in war char iots with waving banners and sounding trumpets, leading on militant host. on either side of them far as the eye can reach are naked bodies of the slain in at titudes of anguish, headless, dismem- bored Not such has been the progress of the Prince of Peace. He has come through the centuries a benefcent presence with hands stretched out in blessing. The eyes of the blind are opened the ears of the deaf are unstopped. the lame man leaDeth as a hart, the wilderness is glad and the trees clap their hands And as He passes on. earth answers back to heaven. and heaven answers back to earth: Worthy art thou to receive honor and glory and power and dominion forever and ever,
 Amen.
 Y"But having enthroned Christ as the Saviour and Lord of your life. how shall you serve Him? l answer. by serving your generation in His spirit and in His name. He organized human society and He has conditioned 1t on mutual service among it's members.
 "The preservation of all social snstitu- tions. the progress of all civilization is de- pendent upon mutual cooperation and
 self respecting service. Organized so- ciety finds it's analogue In human body q Cor. 12:15-26) Social service is an obliga- ton That obligation may be natural. created by ties of blood; 1t may be legally created by law 1t may be moral, exist ing in the divine order of things, but of whatever kind 1t stands over against us and says, DO your duty. serve your home, your church. your city, your state. your nation-the universal brotherhood of man. You must do this or be unfaithful. The first thing therefore. to do fig to ac- knowledge the obligation. This is a matter of common ethics. We are to use our physical energies, our intellects, our pos sessions, our lifes influence. remembering these are but trusts from God to be used for the good of all
 Make Up Human Society "n) Tramps-They come to your back door with petition for food and clothing. Give them something to do in the wood yard and presently they have folded their tents, like the Arab, and silently stolen away A tramp is one who does not work who feels no sense of responsibility, who preys upon the labor of others We pie | turc the tramp as man in rags, covered i with dirt and we despise him. He deserves 1 our contempt. But on the other extreme
 of society shines the man. he may be l young or old. he has inherited an honest
 name, he may possess some property, he is l educated. and To, his estimate of it all is 10 lounge and idle to look with supercll- | ious contempt upon honest work. Who
 ever he is, all right minded men rise up | and denounce him as tramp of the
 meanest type.
 | "(2) Embezzlers-They are men who ap- | propriate to their personal use funds | which are intrusted to their care. His 1 conception of relative duty. like the pagan philosopher tHierocles). is represented by 1 series of concentric circles A point ! at the center represents himself the inner
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