Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-04-16
In The Religious World
(REvIEW SUNDAY SCHOOL LEssoN)

flower to flower-today, orthodox
Christianity, tomorrow, Theosophy
next day Christian Science, the next
day Ethical Culture. New Thought
Babism, or some other pseudo-oriental
cult. One cannot be an eclectic dis.
ciplc and follower of Jesus too.
There is divine egotism about Christ.
His claims are unabashedly absolute.
His place in life is frst-before the
place of father, mother, wife, children,
brothers or sisters. Even life itself
is not to be considered alongside of
loyalty to Jesus.
The Sign Of the Cross.
Any student of history must be
thrilled at the vision of the eminent
place which the emblem of death and
degradation and sacrifice, the cross
of Christ, has held in human affairs
for nearly two thousand years. Hun-
dreds of millions of people. scattered
all over the earth, offer it supreme al
legiance. It holds higher place and
authority than any national emblem.
OF old the Japanese Roman Catholic
converts died rather than trample on
the cross. Within our own memory
native converts in Korea and China
have accepted imprisonment and death
in preference to disloyalty to the cross.
The Turkish Empire is red with the
blood of modern martyrs. The passion
for the cross, which has been the COM
fort of lonely and obscure Christians,
and the inspiration of great armies, Is
theme for song and story.
AS laid down by Jesus, though, in
the present lesson, the cross was q
symbol Of subsection, sacrifice and SER
vice. 1t meant willingness to undergo
suffering for the sake of the Name.
1t meant burden Of ignominy to be
borne. AS the convict carries his own
cross to the place Of execution. even
as Jesus later did himself, 50 his dis
ciples were to bear before all men the
odium of being Christ's friends. For
long years after these words were
spoken, it was a cause of reprOach to
be a Christian.
Count well this cost" said Christ.
One of the most praiseworthy aspects
OF the BILLY" Sunday evangelistic
campaigns is his insistence that con-
verts shall pay the price in restitution
for past evil and in holy living for tho
future. He does not sweep men and
women into the church on flood Of
emotion and hysteria. Jesus cited the
illustrations of man building tow
er. or Of a king going forth to battle,
but first sitting down to estimate the
cost. Look well to the meaning OF
discipleship: it costs life. There Is
a cross for every convert.
The Clear Break.
Moody used to say that it was only
the halfway Christians who are mis-
cradle. There is no Joy in trying to
serve both God and the world, After
all, according to the clear words of
Jesus, that is no loyalty to him at all.
He demands a complete surrender of
all: IL he chooses to remit to us more
than ever we had from the world, that
is Of his royal bounty. First of all
there must be entire renunciation. A
clear break with the past, an utter
cutting of of old allegiances, is his un.
equivocal requirement Before man
can be accepted into citizenship in one
country he must in definite terms re-
nounce his old citizenship and 10y.
atty. No king so exacting as Christ in
this.
In trying to make the Christian life
seem easy we have not followed the
example Of Christ. He declares that
1t needs all person is or has to enter
his discipleshin. Only surrendered