The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1919-06-19
U. S. WRIGHT

''iNNi anu tuS SiCoICot VI CuSSS IS
love.
U. S. WRIGHT
Professor Paul Science Dept, School
of Life.
This is lesson in laboratory prac-
tice. A box of strange specimens
had been sent in from Corinth. the
social mud lay thick there and it
swarmed with living things that were
bizarre, stenchful or beautiful but all
vigorously active. There were old
fossils from ages of heathenism that
might mean either death or life to
the finder and user. Paul knew it
well for he had dug there for a year
and half and had left a well
organized group of converts.
1t was a city thru which the tides
swept as they do in New York and
business, games and travel made
swirling eddys and treacherous whirl-
pools. Paul came to EYhesus and
hearing of conditions in the old circle
wrote his first letter mentioned in l
Cor. SO. Evidently it was not taken
very seriously and reply was sent
by messenger cd. Questions re-
vealed a state that filled Paul with
anxiety and he addressed himself first
to those divisions, G:1O) vices, (5:1,
and litigations GID and then turned
to the written queries all of which
make up what we know as First Cor
inthians. There may be a question
whether the wonderful fifteenth chap
ter was in reply to a direct inquiry
or not but it answers completely some
who were teaching that Christ did not
rise from the dead. Among the
queries was one about spiritual gift
Which was the most to be desired?
There had risen the strange pheno-
menon known as speaking with
tongues, an ecstatic utterance which
might be entirely meaningless to the
speaker and to all the others or an
Interpretation might be given Was
not this direct manifesto
ton of the Holy Spirit? Should not
such clear demonstration of His
possession entitle the possessor to
special recognition? Was not some
thing of this nature the highest mark
of holiness? All the Corinthian church
was stirred by the claims and counter
claims and they were giving over all
other things in seeking for these
gifts. Professor Paul proceeded to
examine all this under certain tests
as any scientist would do and came
20 very definite conclusions. He was
very sure that this was not the high
est type of the Christian life He did
not deny its validity but he ordered
its regulation and outclassed its love
a thousand fold.
THE QUALITATIVE TEST.
The old Professor began by apply
ing the qualitative test to the con-
duct of life seeking the elements that |
underly it. Tongues are not suffi- |
cient in themselves for they are mere
ly sound. 1t is not the blow out the |
blower that counts. Prophecy is
and balanced, faith is an
alyzed, martyrdom is taken up and |
in no case is the thing itself the prime |
matter but only what lies behind it. |
Is there residium of love in the test !
tube? Then only may the action pass. |
Conduct is the clothes of character. |
A thief and an honest man may wear
the same sort but if we Judge merely
by the dress the judgement is faulty.
Greed and generosity may don the
same garb but the men differ as the
poles. All these things that were
the Corinthian Christians
are far from the final, determinative
thing. Differences may be vital or
venal; why do we differ? 1t is for
loves sake? Tongues may be at the
top or the bottom of the scale; is love
the spokesman? Only conduct that
builds uuon love can be counted
worthy. Love is the ultimate thing
to seek in the justifying of any course
and not until love controls notional
and international issuse, sits in coun-
ell with money and men at the econ
omic table, shines thru all the pat
terms of the UNCONVENTIONAL fabric
and links alley and avenue will the
solution be found for the worlds pain.
THE FRICTION TEST.
Having satisfied himself upon one
point the old Professor began the
test of slow. grinding friction that
seemed to continue indefinitely and
yet it failed to change the structure
of the article being examined. Love
still kept its characteristics where
every other thing failed. There was
an utter absence of the heat that
would be expected to arise under such
treatment. There was still kindness.
still praise of others, still modestv.
still courtesy, still unselfishness. still
avian tat,,,oa,. eth