Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1918-11-14

4 y -
as its chief boon.
Two Types Of WEAKNESS.
The words Of Jesus suggest weari-
ness of two types, which may be de-
scribed as active and passive. Some
are weary because they labor" The
toll of life exhausts them or the en-
ceavor to live righteously throws them
into despair. They cry, For that
which I do I allow not; for what I
would, that do not. but what hate.
that do t. Pastor Hsi, a notable Chi
nese Christian, tells us that as heath
en- he struggled to fulfill Confucius'
ideal of "the princely man." but final
~ gave up his efforts and solaced HIM
self with the opium pipe. Others are
weary because 'sheavy laden" with sor-
row or guilt. Many sing with Tenny-
son:
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hin;
But, o, for the touch of a vanished hand
And the sound OF voice that is still
George whftefield was so oppressed
by a sense of guilt that he lay for
hours at a time on the floor of the
public house where he worked: and
John Bunyan has pictured himself In
the "Pflgrim' with the great bundle on
his back.
But, no matter what form of weari-
ness may trouble us. Jesus offers rest
| to call" who labor and are heavy
| laden.
First he says, "Come unto me
end win give you rest" This we
take to refer to that rest of con-
| science which he bestows as a gift
! on all who come to him. This settles
their position eternally and they are
sssafe in the arms of Jesus" What
great boon this is! John Wesley
found it only after he had been an or
dained minister for years. He was on
his way to Georgia as missionary to
the Indians when q dreadful storm
arose. He was frightened, but found
some simple Moravfan Christians sing
| ing through the storm. Even the wond-
en- and children were not afraid to die.
| Wesley discovered they had learned
| the secret of peace by trusting In
| Christ alone for salvation, and he be-
came a seeker for the same rest OF
soul. He found 1t at last, and as the
result the Evangelical Revival was
born. To come to Christ is to believe
on him, to trust him (John $3.50. To
all who thus come he gives rest Of con-
science.
But many who have this gift are
still oppressed from day to day by the
cares Of life. To them Jesus speaks
again, saying, s'Take my yoke upon
you and We shall find rest unto your
souls" This deeper rest, which is
found by taking his yoke, is well
worth our attention.
It may be well to ask the question,
what is yoke for? The answer is
found in the reference of the text to
q burden" The yoke is to enable
an animal to draw it's burden. More
over, the burden will be slight" only
when the yoke is easy" 1t is just
AZ when, amongst us, the horses col
lar is rightly adjusted and well
padded: the animal then finds it easy
to draw it's burden, but otherwise its
shoulder is CALLED and it refuses to pull
the load.
Here now we are coming to the prac-
teal point. Jesus tells us the very
things we need in our Jokes to make
them easy so that the burden Of life
will be light. 'Take my yoke upon
you" he says, "and learn of me, for I
am meek and lowly in heart" It is
because we lack meekness and low
lipess that the yoke gals and the
burden is heavy.
As we understand it, ''meekness" is
our attitude to men, especially, while
'1owliness" describes our attitude to
God. Jesus had both graces in per-
lection. In the very chapter where
our text is found, men call him glut-
ton and winebibber, but he is unruf-
fled. saying, ''Wisdom is justified of
her children" Again, God hides his
secrets from the wise and prudent but
Jesus in his 1owliness says: "Even so
Father, for SO it seemed good in thy
sight" When we are thus meek and
lowly, 1t is evident the yoke viii be
easy and the burden light.
Jokes are made for two and those
who wear Chrfst's yoke may assure
themselves that he himself win jour
ney beside them. contributing his great
strength to drawing the burdens that
Cypress them
I'm the world ye' shall have tribula-
ton. but In me ye shall have peace"