The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1914-06-26
GOOD BY The Way
Every One, Every Day, Has OPP
portunities for the Doing Of
Christian Work.

dental. Men need not ascend q pulpit
to preach. The dusty road. beaten by
the feet of many travellers, may be the
opportunity for the exercise of our
best talents. We do not know how
much good we do. Neither do we
know the consequences of our evil
deeds and thoughts. A girl gave her
soldier lover a ounch of forget-me-
nots. He died on the field of Water
loo. but the flowers carpeted the fields
with their sentimental beauty. The
straw in which one of Thorwaldsen's
works was packed contained new
varieties Of seeds. and the gardens OF
Copenhagen have been enriched with
new varieties Of trees and shrubs and
flowers.
The ministries by the wayside are
informal unceremonious, and 1t would
seem incidental to the larger service
Everything we do has far-reaching in
fiuence. Every uttered word Is in
vested with many possibilities. Pub
lie service attracts attention, but the
real good men do is not in public, but
In private. 1t Is on the wayside. not
the platform, where the work Is DONE
The man who thinks Of service as sep
arated from business and society, who
thinks of 1t as a distinct province
apart from all other professions. has
not grasped the meaning OF service,
and fails to understand it's scope. Do
ing good is not profession. but part
Of all legitimate work The world
would be better and happier II people
would learn to do good and be good
when nobody is looking. 1t Is so easy
to be q martyr, to act and perform
our part; 1t Is so bard and uninterest-
Ing to be strong and kind and patient
when there Is no hope Of anyone look
ing on and no newspaper to publish
the heroic deed the next morning.
Religion Is adapted to the kitchen
quite as well as the cathedral. It
takes root In the wayside even more
quickly than In the specially prepared
fields of formal missionary endeavor.
Garfield used the illustration In one Of
his addresses Of the raindrop which
the lap of pigeons wing would send
either to the Gulf of st. Lawrence or
the Gulf Of Mexico.
The word we speak is often the
wing striking the raindrop. The smile.
the hand-shake, the right spirit, deter
mine destiny. 1t Is well to cultivate
the personality that helps. A crouch
is immoral at least Vinegar repels.
Honey attracts. Sunshine in the soul,
about which our young people sing.
often without understanding is not a
passing emotion. 1t is the dominating
quality Of good nature, the overlooking
cup OF sane and intelligent being.
Music Is better than noise, and does
more good. Some men have no har-
mony. They are as sweet bells jang-
led, out of tune and harsh" and all
who come within their reach are Jared
by the clashing. inharmonious sounds.
man may do good going to the
church, or going away from church.
He may find in the business ONCE, the
street, the factory and the field oppor-
tunities for doing good. Every new
experience Is an open door to a new
duty.
Experiences Of tho Wayside.
The wayside is crowded these days
crowded with the morally crippled.
with the physically unfit and with
minds twisted out of shape In the
wayside we meet the tragedies and
deeper experiences of life-the strag-
glers who fall behind In the stress and
struggle Of life. Such deserve a help
ing hand. The good Samaritan is still
| tho idna1 Chricfion but
will bear rereading. While we
must help the poor fellow who Is beat
en- and robbed. attention should be
given to the bandits who did it.
Service is more than sympathy-oil.
wine, an inn, with all the comforts Of
home.
Sometimes 1t takes the form of Sc
we're chastisement. The road to Jericho
should be made safe. The wayside
should not be threatened by men and
institutions which destroy. Service in
wolves the policing of the wayside
making 1t safe for decent folks to
travel on. Look after the poor bleed
ing fellow-yes, but down with the
brigands!
We are all on the broad wayside.
Let us be Of use to humanity, unself-
ishly, genuinely, sincerely helpful to
others, by kindness, sweetness, pa
tience, long-suffering, sympathy and In
doing the dory next to us, and helping
those over whom we stumble, for ad-
venture, as we hurry through the Gate
Beautiful to the Affairs Of the Church.
lie M.s,.S>