The Alaska citizen., 1915-11-08


 IL Is reported that Abraham Lin coin said That the Lord must love the common people. for he made so many of them" And tn ; same careful thinker gave birth to the truth: You can fool some ot the people all of the time, and all but you can't fool all of the people all of the time" Dr. Hills adds tn t1is: "lu terms of short time the common people are not always right; in terms of long time the common people are never wrong. Early in the ministry of Jesus the common people caught up the truth that in Him they had a friend, and now the heart of the nation beats as one for the great Leader. Walk ing over the hills of Galilee Jesus charmed the people like divine Orpheus. Men left their blows to follow Him; fisherman forsook their nets and espOuSgd II, irresistible cause. The soldier and merchant forsook fort and market place, and all rushed to listen when He took up for them rugged truth and trained them in its workings Such love and tenderness, such wisdom and truth, such compassion and gen tleness were His that from the plains of Palestine came throug5 to hear Him gladly
 Intensity the average man and enlarge the sentiments of the com mon people and you have the geni- Us for the great It was expected that great men will make response to the overtures of the gospel. In Benjamin Franklin We have great man and common, who thought 10 war was right and no peace wrong, pouring his whole life into these words, uttered just before his death. T hope to see Him soon" Great was he in death because commo'l in life
 l. The people loved Him be cause they were fascinated with His character. Hid within Him was all the treasure of eternity. That teacher does most for youth who reveals to his pupil what his own soul is and what he may become The soul seed must expand and the environment must be worthy. Just as one born an electrician does not know what he may become un- til he meets an Edison; just as one born a statesman does not know the possibilities of a great future until he meets a Lincoln. T Garfield Mckinley, so the soul born for eternity does not know the heights and depths, the lengths and breadths, the full essence of being until he has come into vital contact with the Christ-the Son of the Living God. The soul may lin ger on all impersonation5 of thought and feeling, upon all art and sci ence, upon all business and plea sure, but until it has stood face to face with the Lord of the race, the Saviour of the lost, it knows not, it cannot know, 1t feels not it cannot feel, all the heights and depths of human woe and human love, all the souls perplexities all its supreme victories.
 There Is but six months of time, plus the soil and the sun and the rain, between the seed and the harvest; there is but brief arc of time between the rudest peasant and the kineliest man. The dis ciples could scarce have counted themselves cne-talent men, but af- ter following the Christ through the pathways and testing of Gallilee they were transformed into ten-ta' ent workers, yes, every one who really followed received such a transformation. Poor Judas as well as saddened Peter wrought as they had received, and their future use fitness has been represented by ice broken or ice melted Day by day Jesus stole their fear and their Encouragement from the heart of the common people and poured into their souls a great, beautiful hope that helped them begin life anew
 ?. The common people loved Him Nroause they were constrained by His beautiful conception of God. Every age has it's conception of a Supreme Being. The pagans identi- fled the gods with every terror Of the thunder-bolt, powerful in the hurricane. dreadful in the earth quake and mysterious in the ser. pent. Because there are 300, ,000, ,O0O people in India we are told they must have 6OO,OOO,OOO gods, one to guard by day and another by night But Jesus had a most alluring con ception of God as dear Father not terrible but friendly, tender loving. Some of you have been taught that God was more ready to punish than to forgive. and the