The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-10-31

uuu the OIneF tllaI lie WlSueu u ~
home and bid his family farewell. In
both cases it was "a circumstance In
life that forbade the acceptance of the
invitation. AS circumstance often leads
to disaster it Is suggested that there
is some element in the circumstance
Itself, or in some personality back of
the circumstance, that makes 1t an
enemy of the person. In both of these
cases the circumstances were against
the best interests of tha persons In
volved, and suggest m~aleyolence which
is always d demons Characteristic. In
contrast with this malegolence we note
the gracious and loving manner of the
Master towards the recipient of His
invitation.
Satan probably used the best weapon
at hand AS we not only have these
two cases, but also the. excuses offered
In luke Ia. we may with fairness coine
TO the conclusion that Satan uses cir
cumstances very frequently and with
great success to prevent the accept
ance of the gospel invitation.
"a ttiittuiAg VI iiipJl RCA ooito "hCh
considering the gospel invitation Is
their failure to properly value the bet
ter things. One of the reasons why
such invitations are not accepted is
that the blessings connected with them
are of the future. and are moral and
spiritual rather than material. 1t is
not difficult to show reasonable people
that the blessings of the Christian re-
ligion are of infinitely more value than
the blessings promised by indulgence in
sin. But with the people of the world
"a bird in the hand is worth two in the
bush."
The matter of circumstance DOM
mates most persons. When asked the
reason why one fails in the perform
M of anything, the answer is often
a preventing circumstance: II was
handicapped because my parents did
not give me a good education; Il was
not properly supported" Those with
whom / was working were Incompetent
and Indifferent"
That the chief end of man is the
pursuit of happiness. is to be COM
mended, but the commentator is quail
fled by a consideration of the source
of happiness. To have good health, to
have convenient and luxurious homes.
to have money to satisfy every demand
for travel, dress or amusement, to be
popular with all classes of people.
means happiness to most men. The de-
mon, circumstance, Or the devil. who Is
behind the circumstance, succeeds In
making this Interpretation of happiness
almost universal, but though successful
in keeping his victim under his control,
he cannot produce the merry heart,
cover the face with smiles or give the
satisfaction and peace that belong to
the inner being. The brightness and
sunshine of life conle from within. not
from the things that are without. The
merriest heart belongs oftentimes to
the person who seems TO lack all the
favorable circumstances of life.
The saddest thing about circum-
stance is that it has power to keep
men and women from accepting the
gospel invitation. The pleas in favor
Of accepting Jesus Christ ms Savior
are often fully acknowledged. the heart
is looking in the right direction, but
when the act of rising 10 follow Jesus
Christ Is proposed the circumstance OF
family duties, or social obligations. or
A dozen other circumstances, prevents
the acceptance of the invitation.