Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-04-24
(By VIM. T. Ellis)

(By VIM. T. Ellis)
Two pictures are suggested, one
older than the inscribed rocks of Per-
sia or the Inca ruins Of South Am
erica. 1t is q picture Of humanity,
of all colors and conditions, in pur-
suit of spiritual peace. The details
of the picture are more bewildering
than Michael Angeles Last Judg-
ment." They include the great stone
altars, the high places" of Petra;
the sacrificial mounds of the Amer
lean Indians. the myriad indescrib-
able idols of India, the stately tenn
pies at Nikko, and the majestic shrine
at Ise. in Japan; the Kabba at Mecca,
the noble Temple of Heaven" in
peking, and the wondrous ruins at
old Karnak, in Egypt. tide of pill
grims, and q cloud of incense are in
the background of this picture. Red
splotches of human sacrifice stain the
canvas. AS we look, the great pic
ture seems vocal with the oldest and
saddest of human walls, the cry Of
souls seeking salvation. That is the
history of human religions; man
struggling toward God. No great soul
can gaze upon the scene without be-
ing profoundly moved.
The other picture is contrast
the great contrast. It is lined mostly
in the experiences of one character,
and its central scene is that character
ON q cross. In the background we see
Him az a Good Shepherd, amid the
thorns Of the dangerous mountain
side at sunset, rescuing lost lamb
that the eagles will get if He does
not We see Him too. as a good ply
Hician. lavishing His healing upon the
thankiess. AS gentle, patient
the multitude the truth of the new
Kingdom of brotherhood. A cham
rion of the poor, the humble, the
outcast, we watch Him fling His life
into the snarling teeth of an antago-
nistic, self-righteouS system OF proud
self-interest. In ways small and great,
this second canvas reveals the stupen-
,Ious and well-nigh incredible spec
tacle OF salvation seeking souls, God
yearning for man.
Chrfstianity's Unique Trait
There, you have the one great dis
tinctive truth about Christianity. 1t
reveals God as seeking the lost. No
longer is the Supreme Being under
stood as q fierce and terrible Power,
10 be propitiated and placated. Jesus
made clear that God is Father,
With all of a human fathers best
qualities, exalted and extended to the
ninth 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
think about God is the determining
factor in all human affairs. Across
the fee Of the sky, deep in the mines
OF earth, men now read the wonder
full Christ message, God loves you"
With such q mighty truth as this
underlying the present Sunday School
lesson, no student should spend his
time in coming the mere details OF
the parable, as. for instance, the fact
that the lost coin was worth sixteen
cents, and that the Syrian home, with
Its earthen floor. often had no window
Mt all, making the loss of the coin
easy. So. also, with details of the
business of the shepherd. Jesus rold
these two stories without any inten
ton that they should be pursued cur
iously in all the refinements of their
meaning; He designed only to illus
trate, from the familiar everyday
experience of His hearers, the tre-