The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-12-29
THE WRATH OF MAN
AND THE LOVE OF GOD
Though He Stay Me Yet Shall | Trust
Him. Was Uttered Before Christ Had
Given His Proof of Love Divine

A world catastrophe so great rs the
present war must of necessity produce
results unexpected. We read with
tranquil mind perhaps of the great
wars of the past. In the light of the
events preceding and following those
wars, they seem not so strange or I'M
usual. In fact, reasoning from cause
to effect we may almost say such
changings and overturnings were un-
avoidable. But when we live in the
midst of such time of terror and dis
tress, when the brutal instincts of man
unrestrained by law or convention
burst forth in all their true and hor-
rid nakedness, when honor which even
thieves are supposed to respect, is
found to be an unknown quantity,
then questions begin to arise, and
many begin to doubt even those eter-
nal verities upon which they thought
were founded their faith in God and
man. 1t is one thing to read of fight
to the death; it is another thing to be
a participant in such struggle.
All who sympathize with the weak
ness of human nature feel the need of
exercising not little charity for those
who once proclaimed a glowing faith
in Gods goodness and love, and who
now find that their faith wavers, that
the sunlight of their hope is dimmcd,
that cruel doubt that the very exist
ence of a God who is good constantly
recurs, and whose lapse into pessi-
| mism is a serious stumbling block to
others.
All attempts to understand the mys-
terry of suffering will end much like
the attempt to understand the mys-
terry of original sin; the mystery will
remain a MYSTERY still. But suffering
like sin must be accepted as an I'M
| deniable fact just as the phenomena
of nature must be accepted as undeni-
able facts, although they are but par
TALLY understood. Even if we may
not fully comprehend the mystery of
suffering, there are many truths re-
lated to it that no one denies and
which may be found in their accep-
lance to have some bearing on the al
most staggering problem of the war.
Since the time when man first broke
the law of God suffering has been as
common in the experience of men as
the air we breathe. Even the Holy
Son of God endured calmly, bravely,
atiently, sufferings beyond the ex-
perience of any of the sons of men.
| Now we do not find doubts arise be-
cause sin and sorrow and suffering
have been and are so universal. We
accept this fact as something dread
full, indeed, and to great extent I'M
necessary in view of Christ's cleans
ing blood, but we do not doubt the
goodness of God or His wondrous love
to man because these things are true
Rather is our faith in Him strength
ened and our love for Him deepened
since, notwithstanding our sins and
consequent suffering, His love pre-
walls over all and peace comes to us
through acceptance of His marvellous
gift.
Now why should our faith stumble
when the sorrow, suffering and ag.
ony are multiplied even to the terri
BILE proportions due to this war? No
new principle has entered into the
problem. The factors are the same
If two times two equals four, is there
any new truth stated when we say
four times four equals sixteen? Il
sin drove Adam from Eden, and if sir
caused the death on Calvary, should
we wonder that sin represented b!
two centuries of the outrageous neg
lect of Christ's law to love one an
other should result in such a war? NJ
new factor has entered into the prob
lem. Reasoning from cause to effect
some such cataclysm seems to hav'
been inevitable. Surely the conse
quence of sin cannot be questioned
The history of mankind leaves nj
loophole of escape from the conclu
sion: "the wages of sin is death"
No one of honest mind, examining
thoroughly into the affairs and rela
tionships of men, can possibly doub
that the law of love and charity ha
been most grossly violated persistent
ly and consciously since that law wa
first enunciated. But this is only tn
beginning of the list of failures Of