The Green Forest tribune., 1912-02-02

GOLDEN TEXT-"Lool5 unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for am God, and there is none else."- Isa. 45:22.
 So quietly had Jesus made His ap- pearance into the world that His ar- rival was unknown in Jerusalem until the Wise Men came from the East. Perhaps the shepherds had not told their tale of the heavenly vision, or perhaps they had told it, but 1t had been unheeded or ridiculed. So as the morning star still rises without noise, and as the seed shoots up ard the flower opens in silence, so was 1s with the coming of Christ, the Rose of Sharon, and the Bright and Morning Star. No thunder awoke the hills of Palestine; no trumpet peal went through it's city; no herald went be- fore Him; no royal salute greeted Him. His mother and the chosen few of the inner circle who had wit messed the wonderous birth, made no proclamation of it,-they received all in silent, happy faith, and pondered these things in their hearts.
 Even so does Christ to-day make His advent into many a heart. So silently does He oftimes come that sne scarcely is able to tell the day or the hour when Christ was born in his life. The Kingdom of God does not always come with observa- ton.
 The inquiry of the Wise Men sug- gests deep interest in Christ. Herod made no such inquiry save in jeal- ousy; Jerusalem was not particularly interested in the subject; but very few in Israel cared anything about it. How like conditions today.
 The Wise Men confessed their ig- norance The truly wise man is never above asking questions. Pride keeps many people from Christ. Because, falsely, we say, i've see" our blind ness remains with us. If we would find the Saviour, if we would know the forgiveness of sin, let us admit our ignorance and our need of a guide; let us cry to God to help us. It is better to ask God to lead us than to trust in our own reason. We seldom wander when on our knees.
 The Wise Men had motive for their searcR-they came to worship Him. And that is just the reason why they found Him. Herod could not find Him, nor could the chief priests and scribes-for the simple reason that they did not want to worship Him. No seeker will find Christ unless the motive of his seek ing be that he may be saved by Him, and from henceforth live for and serve Him. A seeking sinner and seeking Saviour will not be long be- fore they meet, and the meeting will be ! blessed one. Have you found Christ? If not, why not?
 The Wise Men received encourage ment in their search for Christ. They saw His star, which led them through the long desert until they found their place by Christ's side. So will it al- ways be with those who are really seeking Christ. There is a light that others perchance may not see, a hand that others may not perceive, voice that others may not hear-all of these are visible and audible to those who by faith are seeking Christ. The Church, the Bible, the Preaching of the Gospel, exemplary Christian lives, inward impulses-these may be stars that light the way to Him.
 The Wise Men did not consider it enough that they had seen the star. They continued their journey until they saw the Christ. Is there not danger of our seeing the Church, the Bible, the sacraments, and yet miss ing Him! It would have been too bad for them to have come as far as Jerusalem and then to have given up without seeing Him, Just as it would be too bad for us to have used all these spiritual aids, and yet not have found the Saviour
 As soon as these earnest seekers found Christ, they worshipped Him. What & glorious vision they had as they looked upon the Christ Child! They saw that which alone is worth seeing; that which fills and gladdens the soul when seen and known; that which righteous men of old desired to see, but saw only in glimpses and at intervals; that for the seeing of which Moses prayed so earnestly; that to which the eye Of every creature should turn in longing anticipation; that which everything in heaven and in earth is intended to reveal; that for the beholding of which our eyes were made, and for the appreciation of which our minds were formed-Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the Saw four of the world To see anything heart of the vision.