The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-04-02

WHY -
women %ong New Yorks Great
White way" every night? They are
seekinp .life." Why is the famous
boardwalk of Atlantic City ro"ded
today? The promenaders are AFTER
%'lifc." How explain the full steam
ers that ply like ferries across the
oceans? Travellers are after lie.
For what reason are American men
driven by the money madness thal
blights our time? They hope to win
life" How may We explain the
craze Of many kinds Of persons to
get their names into the newspapers!
They think that that spells life.
Look into the theaters, the restau-
rants, and the hotels Of the great
cities, and still you see TINS VIC
pursuit of life" Today's quest OF
all quests is this lust for life
"'Tis life of which our veins are
scant;
IT'S life for which in vain we pant
Life, more life, and fuller that we
want"
Pathetically, many are on the
wrong trail. They are dazzled by
false fires, and in the blindness they
aftix the label, life" to much that
savors of death. The delusiOn and
disappointment of the multitudes who
have sacrificed real values for sham
is a spectacle that saddens all be-
holding hearts.
The Big Offer.
The unique character of Chris
tianity is that it really offers life.
Other faiths have varying rewards,
but Christ's Gospel maintains the stu
pendous claim that it has life to i'm
part right here and now. True, He
offers eternal life, lasting through two
worlds, but that life begins in the
present.
Christ comes to the empty, echOing,
aching hearts of men and proffers
His great gift of life-life rich and
ever richer. Christianity stands for
a new mind, a new spirit, a new ami
mus, a new genius, essentially, a new
life. The words that / speak unto
you, they are spirit and they are life
Limiting the L~argeneSs of 1t.
That proposition is one to tie to.
Hold it fast. All sorts of notions OF
religion are afloat. A mass Of folk
hin that religion is joining the
church, or becoming a Presbyterian
or an ~Episcopalian or a Methodist
Not so; church membership is not a
cause of the new life, but a conse-
Quence of it. 1t is not in order tC
be saved that we join the church, but
because We are saved. There is nc
SdlEatlOn IN any organization.
other fol think that religion is
fundamentally a formula of words
called a creed. Now, everybody mus
have creeds about many things, from
the best way to rig a fishing-lins
to convictions concerning God. Blu
a creed saves nobody.
Nor is religion a set practice 0
procedure. No formulated rules com
prise religion. Christianity does no
consist of doing certain things, no
yet doing without things. The alb
surdity Of attempting to limit the fel
lowship Of Christ to those person
who do not smoke or dance or pla,
cards or go to the theater, is mani
fest to any thinking mind. A per
son may refrain from all these an
still break every one of the eleve.
commandments. The Gospel car can
not be run on any such narrow gaug
road. No assembly or conference O
conduct that shall be ony
with the Christian religion.
The Final Test.
Life v~indicates itself. Christ's d
Christly. The life of God in ma
creates goodness. Salvation is life
the experience of the Divine life i
mans soul here and hereafter. Chris
wants all who follow Him to live b
His impaired spirit. He offers n
shibboleths: He offers life. Hea
Paul, the apostle who plunlbed mo!
deeply the mind of God, Il have bee
crucified with Christ; and it is n
longer I that live, but Christ livet
IN me; and that life which no
live in the flesh 1 live In faith. tt
faith which is in the Son of God. WI
loved me, and gave himself up &
me-"
New lamps for Old" ran the i,
credible cry of the Aladdin stor
New lives for old is the offer Of :,
Gospel. The best Christian eyidenc
may be found. not by ransacking t,
library. but going down street
where men have bee transformed i
to newness of life. That is the vi
diCatiOn of the resurrection. T
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES appearance
the risen Lord to His friends is pro
that satisfies the devout student
the Bible. Even more convincing
the truth that Christ has appear