The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1908-current, 1916-02-25
GODS mercy GREAT
His Loving Care for the Individual
Soul a Matter Almost Be-
yond Comprehension.

hearing of vast numbers-numbers
OF soldiers on this side or that, mum.
bers of casualties, numbers of killed
and wounded-that we forget the soil.
tude and separation of the individual
soul. Yet numbers. be they never so
vast, are made up OF individuals, and
! would speak to you today quite sim
nly Of Gods care for the individual
b)ul. The world groups and classifies !;
II deals with numbers. Not so God.
God speaks of the preciousness of the
individual soul, and of his care for it
under all vicissitudes of life. Il have
called thee by thy name; thou art
mine. When thou passest through the
waters, l will be with thee"
Think, then, of the separatedness
of each soul, the Il" in each of US,
the personality, that which separates
me off from being anyone else ex,
cept the person that | individually
am. May we not say that it is part
OF the divine plan that our lives
should be thus separate units? Is it
not part of Gods intention, and anal
ogous to his works elsewhere in the
world? Look up! The stars may
seem alike to the naked eye; but
take telescope; and we know that
not two are quite alike. "One star diff
fereth from another star in glory"
Look around you! There are myriads
and myriads of leaves on the trees
yet botanists tell us no two leaves
,,,tt a1t IL
Take up the pebbles on the seashore
or the stones on the roadside in the
country. There are countless mil
lions Of them, yet biologists tell us
no two stones are ever quite alike
There is separation, isolation, soil
tude. 1t is as if each stone, and each
leaf, each planet were intended tc
fit into some great plan, as if each
had its own separate part to play
in the great harmony Of the uni
verse.
All Part Of Gods Plan.
So also no two characters are ever
quite alike; each person starts in
life with his own equipment of gifts
and possibilities; no two are ever ex.
actly alike. Each life starts alone oE
voyage of discovery, so to speak
The ship launches out at birth-it
comes into port at death. 1t speaks
many and many another vessel on its
voyage, just as each separate life in.
f1uences and is influenced by others
day by day as the years pass away.
Yet each life has it's own special re
sponsibilities which no one else can
bear; it is distinct, alone, separate
1t is, say, part of Gods plan, who re.
CARDS the value of the individual soul
Il called thee by thy name thou art
mine"
Now, my brethren, what l want to
remind you of is-that God looks at
each individual, be he soldier or civil
an, and says to him, Never think you
are lost in a crowd" Amid all the
countless multitudes on the earth, he
looks at each one with look of in.
finite compassion and says, You are
not lost in crowd. | know thee by
thy name; thou art mine; thou art an
object of my love and care When
j
will be with thee. Amid all the ter
rible clash of arms God cares for every
single soul; no one is insignificant In
his sight. Again and again he says tc
each one, as he assures him of the
preciousness of his own soul, II have
called thee by thy name; thou art
mine. When thou passest through
the waters, l will be with thee"
All Dear to God.
Those many lives which we mourn
Offered in sacrifice on the battle.
fields-are each of them dear to the
God who made and redeemed them.
Not one of them is forgotten; each
one Of them is precious in the sight
of God. Short lives they seem to us,
cut off in their prime, prematurely
cast aside; but Gods power is not
limited. or each one he takes &C,
count, for each one he has employ.
ment beyond the grave, in a fuller
and nobler life, where, purged from
all stain of sin, they will serve him
day and night in his kingdom.
What did Christ die on the cross
for unless it was to disclose the
heart of God? And the heart that
he disclosed was heart which cares
On his cross our God in human flesh
stretches out his arms and tells us
how much he cares. He stretches out
his arms. say, and, with a heart
breaking for love of each one of those
soldier lads, he says in language which
we cannot MISUNDERSTANDING
think you are lost in crowd. Nay,
made thee; l shed my blood for thee
l died for thee; l redeem thee. 81
have called thee by thy name thou
art mine. When thou passest through
the waters, | will be with thee; and
through the rivers they shall not over
now thee."-Rev. Canon Randolph
D. D.