Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1916-12-07

W ture sustains
them. Everything
hinges on what James means by ire
llgion." The word he uses is really
equivalent to worship. AS Coleridge
says: "The outward service of an
cient religion, the rites, ceremonies,
and ceremonial vestments of the law,
had morality for their substance. They
were the letter of which morality was
the spirit; the enigma Of which NOR
atty was the meaning. But morality
itself is the service and ceremonial Of
the Christian religion" James is not
to be understood as putting the out
ward aspect of the divine life against
Its inward aspect. To make him say
that b%enevolence and personal purity
are religion, in the present-day sense
of the word, would be like saying that
a mothers love is washing and feed
ing her child! These deeds are only
the fruit of her love, just as the ire
ligion'' of the text is the fruit of re-
ligion in the soul. And while james
states that true worship consists in
b%enevolence and purity. he would not
discourage the worship of the sane
tuary; only, he would insist that what
we do outside the sanctuary is tLs
actual test Of us. ,
The men who especially appeal to
this age are such as Chinese Cor
don, the soldier saint" who put down
the Tapping rebellion, saving thou
sands of lives; who opposed slavery
In the Sudan, gave to the fatherless
and widows all he had, and died a
martyr of Khartum; yet he was a
member of no church, but communed
as opportunity served in Greek and
Roman Catholic churches; moreover,
did not accept the orthodox view a.
to future punishment. Or, such men
MS the seventh earl of Shaftesbury,
who cared. for the interests of factory
hands. chimney sweeps, costermongers
and the imbecile; Doctor Bernardo, the
builder of homes for the waits Of Lon.
don; or Doctor Grenfell, working
among the deep-sea fishermen Of Lab.
rador, spending himself to relieve
their sufferfngs, opening hospitals, CO.
operative stores and other agencies
for good.
Relation to Others.
These men really visited" the IA
therless and the widows in. their af-
Fiction, caring for them personally.
Gordon taught the ragged schools and
was not content till he had placed
the boys where they might hope for
success in life; many were sent to
sen and he had a chart on his wall
stuck with pins. showing where the
vessels containing his "klngs" were.
He would sit down at the bedside Of
old women in the almshouse and read to
them. The earl of Shaftesbury would
take a lantern of nights and seek out
the lowly on London bridge to help
them
Relation to Self.
Our text also requires that one be,
'unspotted from the world" Dean Al
ford defines the world as "the whole
earthly creation. separated from God
and lying in sin, which, whether as
consisting in the men, who serve 1t, or
the enticements which 1t holds out to
evil lusts. is to Christians a source of,
continual deflement." It is human
society In its ungodly bias. To refer
to Gordon alone, he refused honors
from the Chinese government because
1t had broken faith with rebels In the
TAPPING rebellion. numbering some
who had been promised immunity. An
African. boy said Gordon could see In
the dark because he had the light In
him.
Relation to God.
Moreover, all this service must be
done as before our God and Father"
1t must please him, and 1t Is not strict
~ true to say the service Of humanity
is the service Of God, for It is not al.
ways so. .'This is the work Of God,
that ye believe on him whom he hath
sent" The first requirement for serv.
Ice is life; we must be born again."
Even the deacons who served tables
in the New Testament must be men
'full Of the Holy Ghost. 7s -
We are NOT disturbed BY Gordon's
views on church fellowship and fu.
ture punishment, for he was not infal-
llble. We are more interested to
learn that, as a result Of his early
training. the divine life came into his
soul while he was in China. The earl
Of Shaftesbury was q deeply devoted
evangelical Christian. Doctor Bar.
nardo was q fruit Of the revival
In Ireland In 1e59-1S81, and cared for
the souls Of the wallis Of London as
we'll AZ for their bodies. Doctor Gren.
fell traces all the good In his life to
d. L. Moody and especially to a serv-
Ice he attended where he found a faith
and reality which he coreted and at
last obtained. he says, II am a brick
In the superstructure which has grown
up through Mr.. Moody on the founda.
ton Of Jesus Christ. and I am out In
working" While giving
praise even to humanitarian work on.
Quoted without reference to the Cos
pei, he says. X a only say still, I
have found faith In Jesus Christ az
Son OF God makes men do that which
nothing else did. and bear and suffer
equanimity that which nothing
- -A fst +.n