El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-06-26


cities. tunneling beneath the rivers or
through the mountains. stretching
wires across the continents. olSBlnS
canals and irrigating the deserts ira
palatial clubhouses- Yes, We stana
amazed at his genius. But the SIM
plest of US can look up into a vast
field where the earth is but mere
speck, where man owns nothing ana
can do nothing We swell with prlde
as we think of our achievements ana
our possessions, but who owns tnaI
fine strip Of territory up there nair
mile above our heads, a ten minutes
walk from the heart Of the city, IL
we could walk that way2 Who IS the
possessor of all those vast acres up
there? Just a little way above US, and
buying and selling up there. And there
is comfort in the thought
By greed and graft many men nave
taken possession of the choicest places
here on earth. The great majority
must live in crowded quarters and on
limited resources It will always De
so. At any rate, so long as human
selfishness continues. 1 have no social
Utopia TO offer. though the great So
cial inequalities are a constant cnal-
lenge to the Christian conscience But
these present allOtments are not per-
manent
We have here no continuing city"
Heaven Not Controlled By Man.
The heavens suggest a realm wnere
man is not in control We brought
nothing into the world, and il is GER
tain that we can carry nothing out
The heavens are forever the Lord s.
and the man striving to live a true
life hears the voice of the unseen say
ing-whether he reads it in this book
or nOt-"In my fathers house are
many mansions 1 go to prepare
place for you" and "whosoever will
In the snfritua1 world God harn
made his own appointments The orbit
Of the planet is not more sure than
that the way Of the transgressor IS
hard" and that the way Of righteous
sure as the heavens are the Lords"
and that all things therein move ac-
cOrding to his DEGREES. so too has ne
decreed that men should be saved by
repentance and faith by turning away
from evil and by maintaining a certain
personal relation to himself As well
Try to change the stars in their courses
as to change these DEGREES that are
white in the bible. but in the moral
consciousness Of men AMI the accumu-
lated experience Of the ages
Men are always saved as they con-
form and adjust themselves to the
spiritual order where God is supreme.
We note further that while God
hath given the earth to the children
Of men," he has also imposed upon
=
The earth is the sphere of our activity
and our obligation Grace is given Us,
not merely to take US to heaven but
TO enable US to order our ways here
upon earth in wisdom and truth.
Better Conditions Here.
We are not to spend or time in
longing for golden Streets" but
rather to endeavor to keep our own
streets clean and safe We are not
TO fix our gaze so much upon the
pearly gates as 10 see to il that the
gates Of our own cities and towns are
built strong and high.
True religion concerns itself with
this common earth of ours 1t under
takes 10 so possess men and women
with a new spirit that viii make them
better men and women better nus
bands and wives, kindly neighbOrs ana
upright citizens, honest employers ana
faithful employees. II the life Of earth
is made true and pure and kind, then
the final entrance into heaven, which
is the Lords, need not worry US
The church has too often spent irs
time in excited and angry endeavOrs
to settle difficult speculative problems
which belong to the heavens" I have
a fancy that God cares precious little
about the technical correctness OF our
opinions concerning the great theOiog-
ical and metaphysical questions. many
Of which our beyond our understand
ing.
How to Make Earth Better.
But questions OF the earth '-nath ne
given to the children Of men" How
can We induce men 20 buy more bread
and clothing and books mad less rumZ