The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-12-09

Was dSGlllSJ Ilclu' lhSIS was tlO LlNS
on the lake to help them and it was be-
| fore the days of steam. The wind,
therefore was the main force to be
recioned, with and it was adverse.
That wind could not be changed or
reasonedw it'll; all they could do was
| to resist its blind and cruel opposition
with their puny strength.
Is not this scene of the storm-tossed
disciples on the lake of Galilee true
picture of the Church? Throughout
the centuries a contrary wind has been
tossing the church of God. In its eff
forts to bring humanity to a haven of
rest and safety, the church of God has
had to face raging opposition-a storm
of adverse circumstances more fearful
and powerful than the storm that
faced the disciples and their little
bark The storms of persecution
have Numbered against it-when
Christians were burned, or sawn in
two, or drowned or exposed to wild
beast. But the Church came through
that storm and grew in spite of it.
Then in the course of history other
dangerous storms gathered and beat
against it with fury. In the nine
teenth century came the awful storm
of atheism and infdelity, that tried
to drive the church against the rocks
of destruction. Continually must the
church face the hot winds of bias
phemy that fain would sink it with cv-
cry hope of human help. Yes, the
church today is like the tossing boat
on stormy Galilee! The winds are
contrary and the rowing is hard. The
storm that has it enveloped today is
the storm-the icy storm Of inditfer-
ence from its own members who do
not care whether the church sinks or
floats, lives or dies, goes UP or down,
they lose no sleep either way. Some
times the hands Of US oarsmen are
blistered and cur backs ache as we
bend to the task Of bringing the church
through these storms and into harbors
of safety! / fear that l would be-
come a pessimist if / did not know
that yonder on the mountain stands
the Christ watching and who will
come out walking on the sea, enter
the boat and bring US to rest!
However, it is not my purpose to
confine my treatment to the storms
that blow against the church. For
this scene from the stormy lake tells
a story of human life! In this storm
tossed boat we can see a parable Of
many a human life. Is it too much to
say that in every life there are con-
trary winds? Every mariner on the
sea Of life must face the contrary
winds that oppose it's progress. Yes,
ioN hn N IN cd,
storms that rave and scream like de-
mons against it. Often the sea of life
seems hard. For life is like voyage
at sea. 1t has it's beauty and It's
charm; it's storms and its wrecks.
When we say that life is like a voy-
age at sea we do justice to all the ro-
nance, adventure, uncertainty, the pa
thos, the temptations, the dangers,
the tragedies and the disasters of a
mans life!
The disciples were toiling at their
! oars for the wind was contrary unto
! them. Just the situation in which
lives uncomfortable find themselves!
There is some opposing force which
cannot be changed or ordered off. 1t
cannot be climbed over or crawled IN
der; it will not explain its meaning!
The opposition is there battling life!
For many soul the night is dark, the
sea is rough, and the wind is contrary!
Far from the shores Of happiness and
tempest-beaten! That is the cry of a
multitude Of souls.
1t would be impossible to name all
Of the contrary winds which men en-
counter. A still breeze of opposition
to peace and progress may blow
through the rooms of a mans own
home. When a storm of discord is
raging among the members of a
household-when love has taken its
flight out the window. That is con-
trary wind that is filling and has filled
many life with unspeakable an
guish! True, the union was made
with the best intentions, but somehow
their hearts have drifted apart, or
may be vile temper has exhausted
even the patience of love, and the
wind is contrary for them both!
"The night has thousand eyes
And the day but one;
| Yet the light of the whole world dies
When the sun is gone.
"The mind has thousand eyes
And the heart but one;
But the light of the whole life dies
When love is done"
Or it may be that the opposing
wind may blow from the fact of
chronic i'll health. When the heart
beat is neither strong nor true. when
the nerves Shrek and bluster with ex-
citement, when wholesome food be-
M ,nI, e
Yes, when these temples of clay are so
disordered it seems we'll nigh impos-
sible for the heart and mind to move
toward the haven where they would
be!
Or it may be that the adverse wind
that is beating against the soul like
tornado is poverty. A man or woman
must have great powers of soul indeed,
if hemmed in by great poverty, living
a hand-to-mouth existence, their fu-