Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-06-19
YOUNG MEN PROBLEM
FRONTS THE WORLD
Each Youth Faces Great Question
Of Choice Between Right
and Wrong
IS THE TEST TOO HARD?
Self Denial Means New Fellow
ship. Wider Vision. Better
Reward
THE COMMENCEMENT DAY
PROBLEM
Tho International Sunday School Les
son For June Fl, Is ''The Great Re-
fusar-Afark 10: 1871.
(By William T. Ellis)
THE COMMENCEMENT DAY
PROBLEM
The International Sunday School Les
son For June Fl, Is ''The Great Re
fusaP-Mark 10: 1881.

(By William T. Ellis)
The young man problem fronts the
world afresh every year at this sea-
son, and lends an especial appropri-
ateness to this Sunday School lesson.
Even the dull Of imagination are
stirred as they see thousands of
colleges, and the greater thousands
that throng our athletic fields and
crowd our streets. What multitudes
of them there arel
Each young man Is q problem, and
has a problem. He faces the great
question of the choice Of all life's
best. How may he make the most of
himself? What is the great goal
to which he should strive? Thou
sands of commencement day speakers
enunciate programs and purposes for
young men.
Is It Well With the Young?
For most men there is a period Of
idealism, when they are spiritually
sensitive. The fires of patriotism
burn brightly in their breasts. The
call to human service sounds loud
and clear. The making of character
ideals of young manhood Is himself
person not to be trusted, but to be
stunned. Longfellow knew that
."rhe thoughts of youth are long, long
thoughts"
1t is q dark day for any age when
its young men are no longer concerned
about idealism. If they have ceased
to be heroes, ceased to covet some
high emprise; ceased t. aspire "to
love the fairest and to be the brav-
est" ceased to be dreamers of dreams
and builders of castles; then indeed,
will the nation have fallen on sorry
times. No sadder spectacle MY be
fOnnd in 6aU thnn tho CnrHi6
scheming, sophisticated youth, old
and world-weary before they have
had chance to be young. The coun-
try can hope for little from this type
of worldly-wise scoffers at ideals.
Bettering the Best
In the pages of three of the bio
graphies of Jesus there appears
noble figure about whom art and lit
erature have woven their fancies.
He was " ng man of wealth and
of official position. Clean, upright,
spiritually minded, he coveted earn
estly the best gifts. At the very
sight of him the heart Of Jesus went
out to him in love.
His question was. What shall I
do that / may inherit eternal Iife?"
the Oldest, deepest, highest ques-
tion that has ever engaged the
thought of man. When testing him,
Jesus asked if he had kept the COM
mandments. The young man, with
out priggishness or PharisaiSm, could
declare that he had done So But
still this was not enough. His own
spirit told him that a mere formal
keeping of the law was not sufficient
satisfaction for an immortal soul.
What the young man needed was
new state of mind. He was now
self-centered. He needed to be broth
er-centered. All his concern was for
his own welfare. Jesus wanted to
shock him out of this narrow con-
ception of life, and teach him that
nobody comes to his best until he has
come to self-surrender, and to a life
of service. Therefore, He put him
the test; zone thing thou lackest;
go, sell whatsoever thou hast and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasures in Heaven; and come, fol-
low me-"
The Rich Mans Testing
Not that Jesus wanted the mans
money; He asked him to give up the
money because he wanted the man.
He knew that the young mans heart
had not room for two sovereignties.
His love of money was the outward
evidence of his self-centered life
The law of the new kingdom is that
whatever stands between the disciple
and full allegiance to Christ and the
kingdom, must be sacrificed Often
and usually-what is given up to
Christ is given back by Christ, in
creased many fold Thus, general
offers his sword in token of surrender,
and always a magnanimous conqueror
gives it back again.
The test was too hard for the rich
young ruler. But his countenance
fell at the saying, and he went away
sorrowful for he was one that had
ing to pay the price. He wanted
what Jesus had to offer, but not at
the sacrifice of his possessions.
"once to every man and nation comes
the moment to decide
II. the strife of Truth and Falsehood.
for the good or evil side
Some great cause, Gods new Messiah.
Offering each the bloom or
blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand.
and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever 'twixt
that darkness and that light"
Through the Needles Eye
The tragedy is repeated daily Tt
is as old as the world, as new as
this mornings paper. Never was il
more acute than in our own money
mad day. Last night I heard a min
lister deliver to young people a lecture
which has made him famous, and the
burden of 1t all is. get rich, get richi
He poured scorn upon poverty, for
getting, in his worldly wisdom, that
this, and dozen other unmistakable
passages in the Bible, use strong
speech on this subject. The Apostle
Paul says that covetousness is idol
airy. N
One characteristic of Jesus was that
He was never led astray by the
mood of His time. Wealth could do
more, relatively, in His day than in
ours. But Jesus frankly faced the
fact that there are more cases of real
manhood Smothered by wealth than