Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-19
ChniSt'S Pain on Cross
Enters Into Religion,
Pastor Says Sermon

! sisten in the highest forms of life. II
we were to Danish it today, nothing but
the lowest forms of life would remal
in the world a hundred years hence. A
world where q wise creator has placed
physical suffering is then not only the
best possible kind of a world, but il is
the onlv kind of a world where a mar
could live. We do not need to appolo-
gize for it or attempt to hide it under
a bush. God knows that we needed pair
lust as we needed eyes and ears. and
hands and feet. 1t is a further evil
dence of his wise and loving provision
for our need.
But what about unnecessary suffer
ing and incurable diseases. 1t might
well be doubted whether there is any
such thing AS an incurable disease. bu,
let us take cancer for example and i'm
agine a world in which all pain from il
was banished. It is sure in such q
world as the night follows the day that
| every person who got an internal can
| Ger would die from it. To be relieved
of pain would mean that a large per-
centage of people would die from this
one malady. The other alternative is
for cancer to be accompanied by pain.
Pain Warns of Danger
This means that nature. or God,
warns US of the APPROACH Of danger by
means of pain. 1t means that II we
obey the warning and at once seek
competent aid everyone is cured of can
Ger instead of dying of it. The differ
ence between n world with pain and q
world without pain is then the differ
ence between life and death. A rattle
snake does not strike until il has rat
tied. A man is not stricken with dis
ease without a warning. This warning
is pain. He would blame himself if he
did not get out of the way of the rat
tlesnake. but he seems to think it is
Gods fault if he does 20 get out of
the way of disease.
Some pain is designed TO serve not
a physical but n spiritual end. God
knows that we need p healthy spirit as
complish this end by physical pain why
should he neglect this opportunity? |
do not think that he does. Let us take
womanhood for example. He would be
a strange MAJ who cannot see that the
most beautiful and sublime thing
in the circle of life is an ideal Chris
tan mother. Nowhere else do we see
such love, such unselfishness. such no.
bility. Manhood has its power. it's wis.,
dom, It's ~vlriilty. hut at its best it Of
fers UNIVERSAL homage ut this alter. /
wonder if the years of pain and the
hours Of agony which make this sublime
estate possible is as vain and unneces-
sary as We sometimes think them to be.
| wonder If they do not in a measure
explain the beauty of that star of the
first magnitude. ! w0nHer if it may not
be that God by physical pain is prepar-
ing the soul of w~omanhood for It's
highest deStiny.-motherhoOd.
Function of Religion
This is the function of religion in
relation to pain. II is not to deny its
existence or its reality, but first Of all
to eliminate all that is unnecessary.
and second. TO use all whether neces-
sary or Unnecessary to contribute to
the nobility Of life and character. Paul
said: We know that 10 them that love
God all things work together for good.
Christ chose TO give his message in the
language of pain and through the me-
dunn Of suffering. Perhaps it was be-
cause he realized, as one man has said,
that suffering is n language ineligible
10 the very simplest. while its meaning
is not exhausted by the deepest. At
tlrst he was not understood. They
stood at the foot of the cross to mock.
But a few understood. and that few
grew until they filled all of the earth.
When we realize that the most sacred
possession of our lives was given to us
by the agony of pain we will obey the
of the Master TO take up our
crosses and follow after Him.