The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-04-21
THU TWO TYPES OF RELIGION.
The International Sunday School Les
son for April 20 Is The Lost Sheep
and the Lost COin."-Luke 1j:1-1O.

The International Sunday School Les
son for April 20 Is The Lost Sheep
and the Lost Coin."-Lukc 15:1-1O.
By WILLIAM 7. ELLiS.)
Two pictures are suggested. one
older than the inscribed rocks of
Persia or the nca ruins of South
America. 1t is a picture OF humanity,
OF all colors and conditions. in pur-
suit of spiritual peace. The details of
the picture are more b~ewildering than
Michael's Anglo's Last Judgment
They include the great stone affairs.
the high places" of Petra; the
sacrificial mounds Of the American In
dams, the myrid indescribable idols
Of India. the stately temples at Nikko.
n the majestic shrine at lse, in
Japan; the Kallo at Mecca. the noble
Temple Of Heaven" in Picking, and
the wondrous ruins at old Karnak,
in Egypt. A tide Of pilgrims. and a
cloud OF incense are in the back
ground of this picture. Red splotches
OF m sacrifice stain the canvas.
As we look, the great picture seems
vocal with the oldest and saddest OF
human walls, the cry of souls seek
ing salvation. That is the history Of
human religions; man struggling to-
ward God. No great soul can gaze
upon the scene without being pro-
foundry moved.
The other picture Is a contrast
the great contrast. 1t is limned most
ly in the experiences of one char
acter, and it's central scene is that
character on a cross. In the back
ground we see Him as a God, Shop
herd, amid the thorns of the danger
Gus mountain side at sunset, rescuing
a lost lamb h a the eagles will get
il He does not. We see Him too, as a
good Physician, lavishing his healing
upon the thankless. AS a gentle,
patient Teacher. we behold Him I'M
folding to the multitude the truth of
the new kingdom of brotherhood. A
champion of the poor, the humble,
the outcast, we watch Him fling his
life into the snarling teeth of an an
tagonistic, self-righteous system of
proud self-interest. In ways small
and great, this second canvas reveals
the stupendous and well-nigh incre-
dible spectacle Of salvation seeking
souls. God yearning for man.
Christianity's Unique Trait.
There, you have the n great dis
tinctive truth about Christianity. II
reveals God as seeking the lost. Nc
longer is the Supreme Being under.
stood as a fierce and terrible Power
to be propitiated and ~placated. Jesus
made clear that God is a Father
qualities, exalted and extended to the
nth degree.
Brooding, yearning. inviting, seek.
ing-that is the picture Of God which
Jesus painted. That conception has
changed the worlds map and the
worlds history. For what people
him about God is the determining
factor in all human affairs. Acros:
the face of the sky, deep in the mine!
of earth. men now read the wonder
: full Christ message. God loves you
With such a mighty truth is thi:
underlying the present Sunday schoo
lesson. no student should spend hi
time in coming the mere details o
the parable. as, for instance, the fac
that the lost coin was worth sixteer
cents, and that the Syrian home
with its earthen floor, often had n,
window at all, making the loss Of tn,
coin easy. So also, with details OF tn
business OF the shepherd. Jesus toll
these " stories without m inten
ton that they should be pursued curl
ously in all the retinements of thei
meaning: He designed only to illus
trate, from the familiar. every-da,
experience OF his hearers, the tremen
lou teaching that God cares for tn
lost and will go the limit to fin,
them.
Vt the Base of Democracy.
The background of these lesso
stories was very human and interest
ing. The aristocrats pointed the fin
gee IF scorn at Jesus because he Re
ceived sinners, and even ate wit
them. A first-class snob is alway
most of all Jealous about his socis
standing. m unwilling to do anythin
at all to compromise il. Some socia
ly ambitious persons are ashamed
their own humble parents. Jesu
however. was the originator OF den
ocracy, and he never looked at TT
label which society had pasted on
man. He would as lief eat with
publican as q pharisee. Whereat TT
pharisees CRASHED their teeth. Jes,
answered them by this incomparab
cluster of three parallels. the 10
sheep, the lost coin. and the lost so
A. the plinth OF things lies tn
Ch..st-teaching of the WORTHWHILE
~ Of every human soul. 1t is I'll
,nly basis for democracy. Eouali
OF life. equality Of opportunity. az
equality of value of every human b
~ Ill