Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-22
FRUITS OF THE CHRISTIAN
LIFE
Matthew 25.l6-S0: 5.1-lc.
Golden Text: All things are
yours. and ye are Chrlsts; anu
Christ is Gods. ! Cor. S:s1-2
By REV. HUGH t. STEVENSON.

Soldiers covet the rewards OF hero
ISM The family rejoices in the, hon
ors which he wins in battle by his
bravery and fidelity. Christ, the
greatest Of all commanders. appre-
ciates the service performed in His
warfare, from which there is no ex-
emption for those who love Him. In
the two selections taken from Mat
thew's gospel that form the. basis
for this weeks study Jesus points
out some of the; rewards that will be
given to His faithful servants. when
he distributes to them upon His re-
turn, the fruits of not only'the Christ:
ian life. but Of chfist's: triumph over
His. foes. After having studied in
the lessons of the quarter the char
acter of. the. Christian life, it is ap-
propriate that the. lesson preceding
the quarters review should deal with
the results and rewards Of the Chris
tan life. >,
1t was near the end of His ministry
among men shat the Ma ster impressed
upon His followers. in the parable OF
the talents, their. personal RESPONSE
bility. and the rewards that would
follow their fidelity. Within less
than two hours of the close OF His
career. as a, public teacher Jesus
emphasized the, obligation, of each
disciple to.:work for the advancement
Of. His. kingdom. In. the preceding
parable Of the virgins, who are repre-
scented as awaiting for. theit Lords
return, Jesns taught the necessity of
purity OF the Christian Hfe;> while in
this parable He lays down. the re-
sponsibility. Of the, disciples to labor
earneselyi and efficiently till. He re:
whom the departing Master intrusted
His goods, were His. slaves. They be-
longed tos Him and 4shad no. funds of
their own, but were to- trade, with
what their owner fntrusted to them.
They knew. that eNs.wpuld. he held
faithful PERFORMANCE Of their duty
While there existed an equality in
obligation. the funds intrusted to the
| several slaves differed: according to
| their ability. While the, one who re-
| ceiyed thes least had. :. the .ssfnaE est
! mean 7shias for the talent .equaied
then so pounds Yninae5. 12.066 al
| maria! $1l944, wifi a purchasing value
! today Of at.ieastr$ $4,000 dollars" No
Christian viii be held responsible .f6r
| more than has been intrusted to. him,
l
| the; believer Will use -x-f1atkver~Aac-
| ulty.. money, opportunity or induence
| he has had given to him for the tad-
vancemeilt Of. His kingdom. When
| He comes to- Judge men for. their
| works the ones who have by their
| tionste frcfease will be certain TO
receiSe the, same reward tot we'll
| done. good and faithful Servant. and
F., q wtstcome 80 share the Joys 2i eter-
and negligent. even though .Ks;. may
| the SAFEST akiad oT iasesthent,slsw1 ill
| not be approfed pf the Lpyd. Z, He
| requires work just as America calls
| for something 6sside $fhe pirehas-
lag Of Mbe5ty bonds; for hey pre- the
best possible -investments, 40 demon
'strate that ono is n -10o~ per cent
| American. The one Whoadoes not do
| his all Is q Stacker and degerves to
be condemned both by. the Lord; Id
| his countrymen. The man who fails
to do his part in: whining 'the war
Is working against America just as
the Christian who fails, to respond to
| his obligations is untrue to Christ
The other section was selected from
| the Masters mountain message. which
| Jesus delivered at the time the twelve
| the spirit Of the mountains and re-
| veaIs the personality OF the RFeacheE.
| which has given it first rank among
| tho sermons of, the world. In pro-
| cl&iming the principles Of His Cos
! pei the Lord Jesus portrayed the
| character Of the Christian citizen.
| answered the query Of men concern
| ing happiness and pointed out the
| way to life. THE Foundation. of His
kingdom Is in a spiritual life. which
| opens the way to happiness. or bless
! edness. because it makes possible for
| ono to live a life in -harmony: with
God. The man who seeks true hap
| pipess. not for its own sake, but for
| the glory of God. will so6tain. TRUE
happiness. The Master finds fappi-
ness In the spirit. not station: Of men.
| This Is taught in the first beatitude.
! which opens the door to the kingdom
| of, heaven. only to those who realize
| their moral. poverty. and through
humility OF repentance seek. RELIEF.
Christ saw IN the deep SORROW OF
man..one, Of. LIES, .graakestsbl blessings
Whenever q man. through sorrow fol
his sins. mourns over his shortcom-