Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-18

lalLC DuGh Au Ills SiOSAA6 .y1 -
slider the great general truth which
all men must know. He sounded the
trumpet and called all men to witness
a wise and foolish man. The dIIer-
ence between the men lay IN n Iact.
One man saw the necessity or an aoe
quate foundation of life u tne otneI
did not. 1t was not a case OF one man
choosing rock and the other man
choosing sand. Rather it meant tnal
one man built only after he mas gwen
careful consideration n U as
to what was its base.
eff were to ask o what toun,
dation sustains this building. you wouid
have no difficulty in answering me.
You would take me to the basement
and point out the stones OF the u
dation. You know that this building
would Immediately collapse without
them. But what if / should ask 0
to point out to me the foundation upon
which your life rested, could this cues
ton be answered so easily! mat
which is the first concern OF the ar
chitecture Of the house which perIsnes
is too often the last consideration on
those who are the possessors OF the
material to build an eternal mousse.
Men might well differ as to the type
of foundation which they Will set 10
hold their lives, but as to the necessi.s
of some foundation. there ought 70 Dc
no possibility of difference. Yet Jesus
found that the world contains a iarEe
number of foolish men. who gave nc
thought to this primary onsideraeion
Appearances
There always have been a great
gro,p of people who were concerned
more about appearances than realities.
They have been most concerned ABOUT
how things looked, paying little at
teution to the unseen things when
formed the basis of that which is seen.
There is no distinction in the paraoie
between the two houses. We are lett
70 believe hat both of them were OF
equal beauty. They had as many roms
and were situated in the same type OF
neighborhood. The foolish man was
keeping up appearances. He seemed
to be on a level with the wise man.
Many foolish people are Keeping up
appearances. They live in fine homes.
They entertain lavishly. If they have
the social bee in their bonnet, they
spend q great deal Of time and money
keep;ng IN with their social set. It
be that they cannot afford to
spend the n and do not have the
time. but all this makes very little DIFF
ference. They must not fall behind the
procession. They must have all that
wise men have, even though they STAND
in a desert and draw the last bucket
Of water from the well.
'"These people in the time of Jesus
were what was known as Pharisees.
and to them Jesus said, Woe unto
you, Scribes and Phariseea, hypocrites;
for you are like unto whited sepul-
which indeed appear beautiful
outward. but within are full of dead
bones. and all ~uncieanliness.'
Yet strong as these words are, Jesus
had more than words Of condemnation
for those who were concerned only
with keeping up appearances. The par
able draws a vivid picture of the ulti-
fate of such lives. The rain. the
floods and the wind were as common
factors in life. There was nothing un-
expected or unusual about them. Nor
is there anything unexpected or un-
usual in the thought of Jesus when
forces test the moral and spir-
itual foundations of life. 1t is simply |
the inevitable coming Of a time when
Every mans work shall be made man
ifest. for the day shall declare it, be-
cause it shall be revealed by fire; and .
the fire shall test every mans work
of what sort it is
Look into the realm of nature!
of you have seen trees which grow
in fields which are frequently flooded. |
Often you will sec q great monarch
has been unequal to the strain.
When the ground was soft, a high
has put such a pressure upon it
it has given way. 1t lies like a
great slain giant upon the ground. A.
few days ago it stood among it's fell
Everything above the ground !
to be equal OR superior to
around it. But now it's
roots are in the air. They have proven
inadequate and nature seems to flaunt !
them abroad as a warning to all crea- !
ton that beautiful foliage and towering !
grandeur is not enough.
Day of Judgment
History brings the same day Of
judgment. We see two great French |
men, a part of the life of one genera
ton, Louis Pasteur and Napoleon
At n time they are a
part of the same organization, when
serves in a Napoleonic war.
The figure of Napoleon is outwardly
one of the most imposing in history.
He won greater victories and achieved
more power than any man Of his u
try has ever done. From being an
obscure citizen Of a petty island, he
a great general and emperor.
Pasteur, outwardly, was not very i'm
If Napoleon had seen this
obscure soldier of his army. he would
have passed him without n thought and
the idea that he would ever
do anything for France or the world.
Yet all of the time that Napoleon was
building his imposing castle upon the
sands. Pasteur was building
his quiet cottage of science upon the
everlasting rock. The castle has been
swept away. 1t has gone with the
of time. But men have con-
TO profit in every country of
the world by the cottage of pasteur.
And so firmly was its foundation
made. that men have built on to this
until it has become a castle.
Wise men and foolish men; history
does not cease to sift them!
"N0r does lifei 1t in sometimes !