The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1913-10-21
DEMAND FOR ALL
No Mighty Result Achieved With
out the Growing Sacrifice
of the Blood.

Ut is true even upon the lowest plane
that without shedding of blood there
III is nothing. no mighty result, no
achievement, no triumph. Every
worthy deed costs something; no
high thing can be done easily. No
great thing can be accomplished with
out the shedding of blood. Life is just
our chance of making this great and
strange discovery Many of US never
make it. We begin by trifiing. by
working with a fraction of our
strength. We soon see that nothing
comes of that At last, if we are
wise, we see that all the strength is
needed. What have we beside this?
We must disrobe ourselves. We do
it; yet our object remains ungained.
What more have we to give? We
have our blood. So at last the blood
is shed, the life is parted with, and
the goal is reached. We are happy
If we know that everything noble and
enduring in this world is accomplish
ed by the shedding of blood, not mere
ly the concentration of the heart and
soul and mind on one object, but the
pruning and even the manning of life.
Young men are being taught this les
son now, and unless all signs are false
they will be taught it more sternly in
the future.
Without shedding of blood there is
no remission. There has been from
the beginning profound and solemn
witness in the human heart to this.
Many of the primitive religious ideas
are Gods deep preparation of the mind
and heart of man for the grand gos-
pei of Christianity, the substitution of
the Lord Jesus Christ for guilty sim
ners. This witness is embedded in
our language. What is meant by the
word "bless?" 1t is derived from the
Anglo-Saxon word for blood. We may
legitimately translate this by saying
that before we can truly bless another
human being we must shed our blood
for him. You can tighten brothers
way by cups of cold water, by small
gifts, by smiles, by friendly words,
and these things are great in the eyes
of Christ. But to bless in the SUI
perlative degree we must part with
life.
Doctrine of Atonement.
So the Eternal Son shed as it were
great drops of blood in Gethsemane,
and offered himself immaculate to God
on the cross. We can never render
the doctrine of the atonement in terms
of human self-sacrif1ce and self-sur-
render. But the human analogies help
us. and, indeed, the doctrine OF the
atonement without them would be a
mere blank for our minds. So / seem
to see how it is that the simple re-
ceiVe and understand the plainest
preaching OF 1.-The glorious truth of
Precipitation, and leap to it, while those
whose minds are overlaid with specu.
lation and what is called culture find
it difficult. Alas! we often see theo-
logians, even evangelical theologians,
using infinite evasions and subtleties
to disencumber themselves of the one
weapon without which the evangelist
can do nothing at all. But we know
that Christ's appearing would have
had no purpose and conducted to no
end, if he had not stayed long enough
with us to shed his blood in Geth-
semane and Calvary. To know what
our redemption cost him we must,
with the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, look at Gethsemane as wen
as Calvary, and even then we do not
know.
Most Intense of Prayers.
But we do know something. We see
him in his extremity when he began
fully to understand the bitterness of
his cup. We hear him pray his prayer
with strong crying and tears, IF it be
possible to let this cup pass from me. I"
That transact calix! There is no
prayer like that, no prayer ever utter
ed with such intensity. The prayer
that is lifted when it seems just pos
sible that the cup may pass, and that
the pleading may decide it, is in itself
a shedding of blood. We realize the
dim witness who heard afar the
broken meaning, the long sobs. who
witnessed the hard-won victory which
seemed defeat, who could not watch
with him one hour. We know what
the strain must have been when there
came to his succor the all-pitying but
undimmed angel. If it had not been
that God made his minister a fame
of fire in that darkness. could Christ
have conquered? The cup was not
taken away. but the prayer was an
swered, for his lips were made brave
to drink it. Perhaps they are right
who say that Gethsemane was the
browning point of our Redeemer's suf-
ferings. though it was on Calvary that
he finished his work. | do not know.
He quivered for a moment on Calvary,
too.-Rev. w. Robertson Nicoll.