Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1916-12-21

E6T X998 'ture sustatns
- them. Everything
hinges on what James means by "re-
ligion." 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
We're 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 mike him say
that b%enevolence and personal purity
are religion, in the ~present-day sense
of the word, would be like saying that
4 mothers love is washing and feed
ing her child! These deeds are only
the fruit of her love. just us the ire
ligion" of the text is the fruit OF re-
ligion in the soul. And while James
states that true worship consists In
be~nevolence and purity. he would not
discourage the worship of the sane
tuary; only, he, would insist that what
we do outside the sanctuary is tEs
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 fatherlesa
and widows all he had, and died a
martyr of Khartum; yet he was a
member of no church, but commune@1
us opportunity served in Greek and
Roman Catholic churches; moreover,
did not accept the orthodox view az
to future punishment. Or, such men
as the seventh earl Of Shaftesbury,
who cared for the interests of factory
hands, chimney sweeps, costermongers
and the imbecile Doctor B%arnardo, 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 %sufferings, 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-
fiicticn, 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 I'M life; many were sent to
sea 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 andread ia
them. The earl of Shaatesbury would
take a lantern of nights and seek out
the Iowly 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 it, OF
the %enticements which it holds out to
evil lusts, Is to Christians a source Of
continual deflement." 1t is human
society In Its ungodly bias. To refer
to Gordon alone, he refused honors
from the Chinese government because
It 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. I
Relation to God.
Moreover, all this service must be
done as before our God and Father
It must please him, and It is not strict
~ true to say the service Of .humanit,
is the service Of God, for It il not al
ways 30. .'This is the work Of God
that ye believe on him whom he haiti
ksent." The first requirement for serv
ice ID life: I'VE must be born again
Even the deacons who served table,
In the New Testament must be, mer
'full Of the Holy Ghost
We are not disturbed BY Gordon,l
views on church Fellowship and I'd
ture punishment for he was not infal
lible. We are nor interested Il
learn that, az q result Of HIS earl,
49, SnIA H-Aa IL