The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-04-30

present Jesus Christ to men should be
missed. SO he faithfully preached
Gods word, and very likely most OF
those persons went out with but a
passing impression. But there was
one young man who heard and
needed the appeal so earnestly made.
And that young man was Charles
Sturgeon. Cast thy bread upon the
waters. for thou shalt find 1t after
many days"
Lyman Beecher went once to
preach to country congregation on
a stormy Sunday Just one person
was present at the service, and Lyman
Beecher had brought Que of his very
strongest sermons. What would the
average minister do under such Cur
cumstances? heard of a parallel
case in the South. A minister was
announced to preach at country
church on certain Sunday evening
A heavy rainstorm swept the country
just about church time. The minister
and his host were the only ones pres
ent. They laughed and joked about
the situation and the minister's host
said: We'll, shall you preach or shall
I preach ?" The minister did not
preach his sermon and later went
back home with his host who, by the
way, was not A Christian. Lyman
Reecher preached his sermon to one
auditor. and We are told that ne
preached 1t as earnestly and as care
fully as though he were preaching to
hundreds of persons. Was 1t waste I?
Bread cast upon waters. to be sure.
but this young man became con-
vert TO Christianity, went into the
ministry and welded a great influence
for good. and the turning point in
his career was the sermon Lyman
, Beecher preached to him on that
Sunday. Cast thy bread upon the
waters, for thou shalt find II after
many days" (3) Many times there
are unexpected returns for the unset
fish sacrifice we make for others.
Depends on Investment.
The retSrns We get depend alto
gether upon the investment we make.
The man who makes only money In
vestment will get only the return that
is commensurate with his money. He
who makes only an intellectual m
vestment will get returns equal in
quality to the value of his intellec-
tual gift. But he who invests his
spirit will find that he will get no
less than the value of his investment.
which can be no less than the i'm
mortal harvest OF the soul
I recall that during the two years
! was preaching in California that |
Tailored increasingly with the young
people OF that community and gave
hem my soul unsttntedly. only to feel
that my heart would break heca use
there was such coldness and such a
lack Of appreciation and so little re-
sponse left feeling that my work
had counted for little or nothing
among them. But some time after /
had been in Richmond. I received a
letter from one OF the ladies there.
in which she said: II do not want
you to feel that your work among us
was In vain, for many Of the young
men and women here with whom you
labored so faithfully are coming into
the church and are taking more seri-
Cast thy bread upon the waters. for
thou shalt ind it after many days
To Save Some Boys.
Some years ago a father stepped
from his own door on his way to a
tenn perance meeting In his own town
A beautiful young girl kissed MIN
good night She said Papa. where
are you goinH' He replied: Il am
going out 10 save some Of our boys"
And with a careless smile she said:
Gave nc a nice one" He walked of
precious child is not conscious OF the
request she has made. Save nv dar-
ling. innocent child from a drunken
husband and a drunken home" That
night. as he stood on the street and
made his speech, young man who
passed in the crowd stopped and heard
"A half dozen sentences OF the speaker.
one Of which was this: Young man.
hear the advice Of an old man--you
may carry strong drink for little
while, hut sooner or later Il will get
you down The young man moved
on. saying TO himsef: That old man
has told the truth. / was intoxicated
the other night, and I never expected
to he under the influence OF liquor i"
stopping there silently and alone. he
brought his fist down into the palm
of his hand and said: 80 help me
God. / am done" Years passed away.
The cashier of bank was seated with
his wife on the front porch OF their
beautiful city residence. Two little
children were running to and fro in
the green grass OF the beautiful door
way. when a drunken man came stag
gering down the street. holding To the
palings. The young wife said; 30
Charlie what should | do IL YOU were
to come home staggering Ike that
some day. He replied: Annie.
believe ! never told you what made
me give up drink" And he recalled
who had heard the old one make his
temperance speech, II was Armies
father who made the talk and Annie's
husband who heard it. The night
that she looked up into her fathers
face and said. Save me a nice one
little did she think that that hour
would he the hour in her fathers life
to bring her a happy home. Cast thy
bread upon the waters, for thou shalt
find IL after many days"
Led ter Christ
one night In New York Fanny
Crosby was speaking in one OF the
missions. At the close of her beau
tiful, tender appeal to the lost. she
invited any young man who would
come forward desiring to find Christ
to come TO the platform One young
man came. He showed by his clothes
and by his every mark in his face that
he had descended to the lowest
depths. But she said: Tonight, for
tho sake of your dear mother. I put
my arms about you and for her sake
! imprint a kiss upon your cheek
the first perhaps. that he had re-
ceived since he sat in the innocence
OF childhood upon his mothers knee.
Fanny Crosby was thrilled with the
JOY OF having led someone to Christ,
and under the inspiration Of that hour
she went home ami wrote;