The Washington herald., 1917-08-26

One in Whom God and man meet: OF
n life whose native breath exhaled the
purities OF two eternities; of a heart
that spilled itself in kindly acts, Of
strange, but mighty majesty that
lowered above the crest Of earth, of a
sweet gentility, shot through and
through with omnipresent light, Of
patience that bent to earth as though
all His life depended on their love.
of a consuming passion for human
wreckage that struggled with the
maddened surge on life's awful sea!
His words how they hang to their
lips; they are the queen Of their
thoughts, but they pass like magic
and fade away in ghostly skies. They
recall the white life; the trial bred in
prejudice; the condemnation of a com
mercial judge, the suffering that made
panic of their hearts the crucitxion,
upon which the sun refused to shine,
the rumored resurrection from Jo-
seph's tomb variously mixed with de-
lay, contradiction and falsehood.
Alas. three days have passed! Three
days OF anxiety that tremblcs to the
roots of their hearts; three days OF
ridicule poured from empty scorn!
Three days-three days and the lights
are out. A stranger joins them in the
daylight darkness. The shadows veil
the glory of the morning Star. He
speaks! His words! Their hearts leap
and listen. A single breath Of hope
thrills them in its flow. His voice fills
their thoughts with the echoes OF the
past. Lingering shadows whirl around
them as they tarry in the gateway OF
a dream. His words weirdly fall; He
knits their attention; the attraction is
tremendous; they unbar the fortresses
of mind and heart; shaCkles from dis
appointed spirits break: the inner
chambers OF their souls are alive
again: the earthly scene is again fill
Ci with heavenly realities and the
II sen Savior at meat drops the mask
and abides again in another form"
His holy presence smites the Gordian
knot OF their perpleNity and 10, He
lives
The alternate waves OF faith and
doubt swept over the souls Of these
two companions. They were COM
mingled and at times stood over
against each other like armed foes.
Argument OF the one met the decla-
ration of the other. Neither would
mend nor melt. Each Possessed an
area OF widening expansion. Ques-
tions were rivals. They buZzed in the
hot chambers of their breasts. Yet,
they doubted and even dared to ask
questions. Their doubling, however.
did not spring from cold. cynical cal
culatiOn, but from disappointments of
hearts sensitive and well nigh brok-
en-, hearts aching for the redemption
Of loves holy pledge. These two
kinds of do Ibters must not be con-
fused. they are as wide apart as vice
and virtue. One Is bold and self
confident, born OF the bait OF praise,
while the other is the birthpain OF
simple faith which is the forerunner
Of complete stature in Christ, like a
gray bit of morning which prophesies
the promise of a summer day OF
hope.
Better be afraid OF sophistries than
Of doubts The one who refuses 10
have his coin tested by the assayer
is fearful and afraid he who de-
clines the challenge is skeptical OF
his weapon. Come now, saith the
Lord. let US reason together" With
reverent thought and responsive
hearts seeking the heavenly vision,
let the angels song find its echo
about our little human earth. Pres
ent day disciples have wrestled with
unrecogniZed strangers not only un-
til the evening time but through the
heavy hours Of a long niGht-Season;
at last the day broke and they passed
into the life and light of Gods atmos-
phere. They lived over again the
experiences of Faust" that somber
restless life, now smiling through
tears, but again stranded on the
brink OF failure. but at the last seal
ing terrace after terrace of pur-
gartoriO" their eXultant souls cleared
the summit OF Mount Paradise.
Men are not in the world like timid
children In a great laboratory. On
the four walls they read the signs
hands on" They fear to touch any
thing lest explosions and catastrophes
burst from all directions. On the four
walls of Gods great world-house are
written here" "here"-waiting to be
revealed as mans mind unfolds. AS
the ancients stood on the shore Of the
rolling sea, they listened with min
gled Joy and fear to the music OF the
many waters. But as each wave
broke in laughter at their feet they
interpreted 1t as a separate voice leap
ing out of the infinite depths. Like
wise out of each succeeding season
natures page bears her open lesson:
morning, noon and evening sing their
bird songs of expanding truth; each
generation has its own discoverers
The old world is still filled with mines