Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-08-01
WRITES sermon
FOR WOMAN TOO
SICK TO MOVE
Mr.. BUTLER breaches Sun
day Evening on How
Love Conquers.'

! ing john 3:l6: GOD SO loved the
world that He gave"
An aged lady, prevented by illness
! from attending the service, expressed
such keen regret and disappointment
that Mr.. BUTLER prepared d synopsis
of his address, which follows:
"The first thing in giving is heart
to give; the next is an object that
needs our gifts. 1t was the wisdom
of God in His omniscience that
wrought out the plan of giving as de-
vine. 1t was made the Fundamental
principle Of salvation. 1t was one of
the first laws He inaugurated for gov
erning the world He saw that only
by giving could man, the highest of
all creation, be made to know and
realize that God was God That only
through giving could He extend to
sinful man pardon and show forth
His unbounded mercy.
/ "God So loved that He gave But
why did He give? In this age we
want a reason for doing a thing. He
gave because he loved. Here we find
love conquering through giving.
There is no helpful giving without
love. You can give without loving,
but you can't love without giving
Praying and singing in church mean
but little from person who is I'M
willing to give his life in service and
of his means unto the Lords treasury
The endowed church has always been
the dead church. Giving is absolute
ly essential to the growth and develop
ment of the Christian life.
"The extent Of love measures the
gift. God so loved that He gave. At
the last day it will not be the purse
Or rvice that is measured, but the
love and faith that fills them. And
to present as the only harvest of the
and gold; and homely plants will be
disc; the widows mite will become a
heap Of gold; the handful of grain,
will become the seed of the tree Of
life. The poorest can stand there on
equality with the richest. The reason
so many people feel delicacy in Civ
ing is because they cannot give as
much as some one else, is for lack OF
love. Any sacrifice made in love
though valuless in dollars and cents
has always found favor with God. The
basic difference between the two first
gifts ever made to God was that of
love. Gains gift was not rejected be-
cause it was of less value than Abels
but because it did not represent his
love to God. The same principle is
not less true with man. | would APP
preciate more a 25-cents necktie from
mother than a S. hat from one whose
love l had reason to doubt.
Goods gift strengthened His rela-
ton with man. He gave because He
loved. But when He gave He loved
more. For then and only then did He
come to know in reality the creature
of His creation. 1t is necessary that
those who love give in order that their
love may not wane. 1t is necessary
that they give more that they may
love more.
"The joy of giving. 1t had been the
unquestioned belief of the ages that
the joy and glory of life consisted in
in gaining power, in ac-
cumulating wealth, in securing abund-
ance of material, in social station. Our
Lord changed the centre of gravity. 1t
was the mighty originality of Jesus
Christ to proclaim "That a mans life
CONSISTENT not in the abundance of the
things he possesseth, but in the grace
with which he ministers to those
poorer than himself. When Coperni-
Gus made the sun the centre Of our
system intead of the earth, he eff
fected vast revolution in human
thought. But that discovery is little
compared with the revelation OF Jesus
Christ, that love and not selfishness
is the true centre of life. Only as we
learn this is there greatness OF char
acter, harmony in society, progress In
civilization.
"It is more blessed to give than to
receive is a precept out of HIS own
experience. 1t produces q higher
quality of happiness. 1t is the mark
of nobler~ character. just ten years
ago a young man was spending his
first year in college away from home.
He had gone away from wealthy
home without support, because ne was
studying to become minister. When
Christmas came he had only $40
which he had saved above paying all
his expenses by working before and
after school. Fifteen dollars OF this
he would owe for board at the first OF
the next month. He thought OF the
loved ones at home and debated for
some time whether he should remem-
Der them out of his meager purse. he
loved them, though they seemed to de-
test him, because of his determination
to enter the new calling. They were
accustomed to costly presents. lie
had only $40. But he could only satisfy
the desires of his love by spending
what he had. When he had purchased
"a gift for each of the seven, he Dor
rowed the money to express them
home. To be rid of his last penny
and away from home for the first time
on Christmas was enough to make him
lonely, but to add to the gloom the
weather was rainy and the college hall
where 100 faces had greeted him for
four months pas was occupied by him.
self and two janitors. Aside from pre-
pairing his own meals, he worked the
entire ten days, to be able to pay his
board when due. Yet this young man
to my certain knowledge testifies that
he never spent happier Christmas in
his life. 1t was not the gloom, it was
not being penniless, it was not being
away from home that made him
happy. But it was because he obeyed
the demands of love. 1t was because
he gave all he had AGiving to be a