The Alaska citizen., 1916-04-10

- l uf t'aI 't .A' |. .H .. ..'' . beginning ot w.-dom Iro. <' . 9.l0. . Q Q Q , c . . . . . . THE TEMPTATIONS OF CHRIST
 He was .u all point tempted Hh' as We are. ye. without slu. ivb. i.l
 Eighteen s4eut years -"parat' Jesus from the tune He visited tIr temple until tAe tu4e lie began AI- ministry of truth These yrars must have been packed full of struggle. rtIccJIou. poverty cI-7r~ ot -ull#a ing. love and temptation. that dis cip.ined life and chiseled character During these silent years He wa tempted in all points as other men lie was not tempted aS ruler iol He never swayed the sceptre on all earthly throne, Hat as Il bauhrI for He never coveted gold. not a- soldier, admiral or mlitH.s, aot as father for He never entered into the marital relation But He was tempted on the side of His luminous intellect. toward pride by reason of His genius. lie wa tempted when the hour of popularj ty arrived, and the crowd in one voice would have proclaimed Him their hero. His body must have been eNQusitefy sensitive. and |. was tempted toward the avoidance of pain Gather up al the tempta tons of other men and eH -tulz. them into ole thought and hurl them at Jesus and you have the condition through which He passed 10 a grand and abiding triumph When you seel yourself dedicate, to pain. tempted and tested as no other man, in your wilderness hour look about you and there you will find the temptation footprints ol Him who knows the trials and test. ing of every man.
 | Among tie temptations oi Jesua was that of the Hi-u-e of God gifts to man This is the first of the three classes of terrible t-st- ings that sweep across the human soul. How easy it is for men to iall into inc { a-pta1aH lo a7. ned
 gifts tor puIeIy personal ends. Coo has loaned man his skill and -eaIa- and the temptation is to withhold these talents for himself alone, witu the excuse that what d man pos sesses is his own. At his death, Ma poleon might have been idolized a. the greatest ruler and warrior ot his day. He had genius to or ganize and to conquer Had be per formed this work for the pvopl rather than himself. history would have written in large letters hi successes. But footing Italy spelling Spain. and deyastatine Austria tn people rose against him and Najur flung him down upon the islan of St. Helena and broke hls heart Here are the princes of fInanc' using dishonesty, here the dipio. mats using intrigue here the pOIi clans using lies, deceit and wicked compromise here the army of evil doers of every walk and talk, all. nightly throng, fallen, fallen in the day of temptation, because self Wa written too large upon their ambi tions Jesus was lost in the wilder ness as other men are lost in the wilds of the Rockies, and as otneI men, He had to suffer hunger bu' He would not use the GOd-giyen powers He possessed for His own alory or reII-t when the temptation to do so .ame from the devil himself When God had spoken from the battlements of heaven, "Thon art My Beloved Son. in whom l an we'll pleased" the Spirit of God drove Jesus into the wilderness, anI tested Him as to whether He coulC endure the hunger and thirst with out rebellion without bitterness, still submitting Himself to the laws ci God as expressed in Nature.
 Tradition tells us that as He wa. nearing the end ot the period oi His testings as he walked awa} from the scene wearied and hungry he came upon bit of honey thal could give Him the needed strength. but also found an old man faintin- under his load almost dead in the wilderness. What was a man of 39 to be compared to one who had just filled his days of usefulness, and now ready to complete tho journey of life? Why consider him
 The answer was immediate God < honey, and Jesus good fortune in finding it, but He would deny Him self and give it to another. Think of the power Of His eloquence, Think of the personal charm that He possessed, Thlnk of the mo ment when the people would have taken Him and made Him their king, In using these gifts ell would have made king whose exploits of service would have been legion In dethroning Herod the people oo,,Ia ho fraa R,t ono fh0uuht filled