Earlier text: The Place of the Bible in EducationMormon Plans for Southwestern Domination
A RECENT dispatch from Washington to the New York Times speaks of the prospect of Mormon domination in the proposed new States of the Southwest, and gives reasons for believing that a systematic effort is now being directed by the Mormon hierarchy to secure that end. It says:— Advices received in Washington since the recent meeting of the authorities of the church in Salt Lake confirm the suspicion that there is a movement under way to strengthen the church politically in the proposed States. One of the first evidences of this appears in the decision of the presidents of the church to hold out inducements to lawyers of the Mormon faith to settle in Arizona and New Mexico, and build them up in influence professionally and politically. The failure of the Statehood bill to become law, it seems, was quite satisfactory to the church authorities. They now have time to make their plans and get them in operation before it will be necessary to choose United States Senators and a representative to the House from either of the proposed new States. One of the first moves along this line was to invite a promising young lawyer of Salt Lake, named Crosby, to go to Arizona and set up in practice there. He was openly asked by President Udall, in the Salt Lake conference, to make himself a citizen of the new State, because there were nine thousand Mormons there, and they needed lawyers and political leaders of their own faith. Mr. Crosby, it is announced, will begin as the prosecuting attorney of one of the Mormon counties in Arizona. It is expected that a number of other young Mormon lawyers will follow his example, and respond to similar invitations. EMPEROR WILLIAM visited the pope at the Vatican, May 3, the event being, from a spectacular point of view, one of the most notable witnessed in Rome in many years, says a Rome dispatch. The emperor dined with the three leading cardinals in Rome, with whom, the report says, he was most affable. At the Vatican gates the emperor and his suite were received with military honors by the “palatine guards” and a company of gendarmes, over whom the papal flag was held aloft. The emperor’s interview with the pope lasted forty minutes. As a special mark of deference to the papacy, the emperor did not drive directly to the Vatican from the Quirinal, as he had done on former occasions but first went to the Prussian legation, and while there received a visit from the papal secretary of state, Cardinal Rampolla. SOME information concerning the state of affairs in the Balkans comes through the Constantinople correspondent of the London Times. A recent dispatch sent from Monastir states that the situation in that villayet is most deplorable. Well-authenticated reports state that murder, pillage, incendiarism, acts of vengeance, and atrocities of every kind are of daily occurrence, and are committed alike by soldiers, Albanians, Turks, and Bulgarians. The latest Bulgarian achievement was the total destruction of a small village of exclusively Mussulman population of 165 men, women, and children. All of these, except a very few, were massacred in cold blood. King Edward Visits Pope Leo
THE sovereign of Great Britain has visited Pope Leo, and there is great rejoicing at the Vatican. The visit, says a leading Catholic organ in Rome, "is a great historical page for Catholics," being "a sign of the cessation of the sectarian spirit in Great Britain against the Catholic Church." King Edward on his arrival in Rome first visited the Italian sovereign, and in deference to the wishes of the pope, did not go directly from the Quirinal to the Vatican, but made a perfunctory visit to the British embassy, from which place he proceeded to the residence of the pontiff. At the Vatican he was received with an exhibition of mediæval splendor, and at the conclusion of several formal ceremonies was admitted to the apartments of the pope, with whom he shook hands, after which the two remained in seclusion for twenty minutes. The king's visit was made in deference to the wishes of his Roman Catholic subjects, especially those in Ireland. It is an event which the Vatican will know how to make use of. It has not been often in the history of the United States that changes have been made in the national Constitution. Such changes as have been brought about have been the outcome of crises in the nation’s life, when the welfare of millions of its citizens has hung in the balance. From the nature of that document and its fundamental importance in the republican system of government in this country, it must be true that a change in its provisions is a matter of grave importance to its citizens, directly so to some, and indirectly to all; for no change can be made in the fundamental law of a republic which does not concern all the citizens with which the republic has to do. That a change in the Constitution is now pending, and is indeed practically an accomplished fact, is a matter to which public attention is called by a recent decision of the supreme court of the United States, touching the force of the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution as against a provision of the amended constitution of Alabama. The fifteenth amendment says:— The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The New York Sun, speaking of the case in question, declares that the nation is rapidly coming to believe that this amendment “was one of the most deplorable mistakes in our history.” The Sun believes that “sooner or later the country will have to face squarely the question of its repeal,” and that in view of the attitude of the supreme court as shown by its refusal to enforce the amendment where a State has disfranchised some of its citizens, the time of its repeal can not be far off. A change in the fundamental law of the American republic is but one thing of many which admonish us that we are living in a time of great and sudden changes, a time when prophecy is fast fulfilling, and momentous events looming up on the horizon of the future. At such a time we should make sure that we ourselves are “steadfast, unmovable, . . . abounding in the work of the Lord.” The Ministry Is Ordained of God
By Ellen G. White
EVERY watchman on the walls of Zion is under sacred obligation to watch for souls as he that must give an account. Through God’s grace he can do a work that heaven shall approve, in laboring to keep the church in unity and peace. Let him remember that he is to publish peace, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The church should respect the gospel ministry; for it is God’s appointed means of communicating his messages to his people. The work of his ministers is to open to men and women the living oracles of truth. Let church-members sustain the ministers by their prayers and their co-operation. Let no one venture to make a tirade on a minister; for in so doing he would be making a tirade on Christ in the person of one of his saints. Christ is represented by those whom he sends forth to work for him; therefore those who oppose his ministers are opposing him. This is just as verily the case when those who claim to have an experience in the things of God pursue a course that hinders and afflicts one of God’s servants, by misstatements and false charges, setting themselves up as judges of his course of action, which they claim to understand, but which has been misrepresented to them, and which, therefore, they do not understand. Let our people remember that the way in which they treat the Lord’s workers means much to them. Let every one attend to his own work, and not regard himself as appointed by the Lord to watch for something to criticise in the work that his brother does. If a worker sees that a fellow laborer is in danger of doing wrong, let him go to him, and point out his danger, listening kindly and patiently to any explanation that may be offered. He dishonors the Saviour when, instead of doing this, he tells others of the mistakes that he thinks his fellow worker is making. My brother, my sister, you are forbidden to make the mistakes of a fellow worker the subject of conversation. By speaking evil of another, you sow the seeds of criticism and denunciation. You can not afford to do this. Go to the one who you think is in the wrong, and tell him his fault “between thee and him alone.” If he will hear you, and can explain the matter to you, how glad you will be that you did not take up a reproach against him, but followed instead the Saviour’s directions. Let us refuse to bear evil reports concerning our fellow laborers. The reputation of men and women is held of high value by him who gave his life to save souls. He has told us how those in fault should be dealt with. No one is sufficiently wise to improve on God’s plan. Parents should teach their children to speak ill of no man. Insinuations, words that hurt the reputation of one who is doing the Lord’s work, grieve and dishonor the Saviour. And God’s Word declares, “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” To those who have educated themselves to speak unadvisedly, I am instructed to say, Unless you cease encouraging evil-speaking, unless you guard as Christians should the reputation of your fellow workers, you will endanger your own soul and the souls of many others. No longer talk about the wrong that some one is doing. Never, never repeat a scandal. Go to the one assailed, and ask him in regard to the matter. God has not appointed any man to be the judge of another man’s motives and work. He who feels at liberty to dissect the character of another, he who intentionally detracts from the influence of a fellow worker, is as verily breaking God’s law as if he openly disregarded the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Unity of Action Essential
The great enemy of the church is determined to introduce among God’s people that which will result in disunion and variance. Schism and division are not the fruit of righteousness; they are of the evil one. The great hindrance to our advancement is the selfishness that prevents believers from having true fellowship with one another. The last prayer that Christ offered for his disciples before his trial was that they might be one in him. Satan is determined that this oneness shall not be; for it is the strongest witness that can be borne that God gave his Son to reconcile the world to heaven. But the union for which Christ prayed must exist among God’s people before he can bestow on the church the enlargement and power that he longs to bestow on it. Unity should be recognized as the element of preservation in the church. Those who are united in church capacity have entered into a solemn covenant with God to obey his word, and to unite in an effort to strengthen the faith of one another. They are to be one in him, even though they are scattered the world over. This is God’s purpose concerning them, and the heart of the Saviour is set upon his followers fulfilling this purpose. But God can not make them one with Christ and with one another unless they are willing to give up their way for his way. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” Thus is portrayed the happiness and grace that will be revealed when unity and love abide in the church. Christ’s Attitude Toward Judas
Among the chosen disciples of Christ there was a representative of Satan. At heart Judas was not a disciple. Often he led the other disciples to form opinions contrary to the teachings of the Master. He criticised Christ’s words, and asked questions that led the minds of the disciples away from the subjects that the Saviour brought before them. It was because of the influence that Judas exerted to deceive the disciples that Christ had to repeat so many of his lessons. Judas did not come out boldly in opposition to Christ; and therefore he was the better able to deceive the eleven. Christ knew, when he permitted Judas to connect with him as one of the twelve, that Judas was possessed of the demon of selfishness. He knew that this professed disciple would betray him, and yet he did not separate him from the other disciples, and send him away. He was preparing the minds of these men for his death and ascension, and he foresaw that should he dismiss Judas, Satan would use him to spread reports that would be difficult to meet and explain. The leaders of the Jewish nation were watching and searching for something that they could use to make of no effect the words of Christ. The Saviour knew that Judas, if dismissed, could so misconstrue and mystify his statements that the Jews would accept a false version of his words, using this version to bring terrible harm to the disciples, and to leave on the minds of Christ’s enemies the impression that the Jews were justified in taking the attitude that they did toward Jesus and his disciples. Christ did not, therefore, send Judas9 from his presence, but kept him by his side, where he could counteract the influence that he might exert against his work. All the way along in the history of the third angel’s message there have been found among the believers men who have done much harm to God’s cause. These men are spots in our feasts of charity; tares among the wheat; wolves among the sheep, ready to bite and devour. Delighting to bear false witness, they cruelly injure the reputation of others. Every such one will be rewarded “according to his works.” God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world.” Then will be made the separation between the wheat and the tares. In that day it will be clearly revealed that those who seek to destroy the reputation of God’s servants are hypocrites. By their own lips will be borne the testimony that will clear from suspicion those against whom they have reported evil. Had not Christ borne with Judas as he did, his followers would have been in great peril after his resurrection and ascension. But when men thought of the fate of the betrayer of innocent blood, they were afraid to lay hands on the disciples. They could not but remember the final confession of the traitor, and his terrible death. “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood,” he exclaimed, when he had cast at the feet of the high priest the pieces of silver that had been the price of his Lord’s betrayal. Then in despair he went and hanged himself. That same day, as the wicked throng who were leading Jesus to the place of crucifixion passed a retired spot, they saw at the foot of a lifeless tree the body of Judas. His weight had broken the cord by which he had hanged himself, and in falling, his body had been horribly mangled. His remains were immediately buried out of sight; but there was less mockery among the throng; and many a pale face revealed the thoughts within. The death of Judas, and the resurrection and ascension of Christ, placed the disciples on vantage ground, and gave them courage. But if Christ had not borne with Judas until the end, the results of the betrayer’s course would not have been sufficiently impressive to stay the hands of the persecutors, and after Christ’s ascension the most terrible scenes would have been witnessed. But God worked by his Spirit, and five thousand were converted in a day. Let God be true, and every man a liar. Christ Jesus is at the helm. “Lo,” he declares, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” The Shining Path
By Mary Louise Hornibrook
Sometimes the thought of God's great love to me
Seems almost overwhelming in its might;
It fills my heart, and bathes my path in life
With a rich glow of never-failing light;
I think without the knowledge of that love
My day would fade to deepest, darkest night. What matters it where’er my path may lie?
My Father reigns; and in his loving hand
I’ll lay my own, in childlike hope and trust,
Knowing ’twill guide me to that better land
Where I shall dwell with those who love the Lord,
And sing his praises with the angel band. My Lord, I thank thee for this wondrous love,
Which gladdens and enriches all my way,
And sheds its beams of tender, shining light
Around my steps, e’en when they go astray;
May grace upon my path shine more and more
Unto the radiance of the perfect day! — Mary Louise Hornibrook. Comprehension of the Bible a Process of Growth
By Benjamin G. Wilkinson
One day while in a depot in Spain, waiting for a train, a friend of mine, a Spaniard, said to me, “Do you see those mountains over there with snow on them? Snow is always there in summer as well as in winter. Well, a few years ago, before the people of this place learned the process of making artificial ice, they used to ascend those mountains each summer, with much toil and difficulty, to gather up that snow. And so much was that snow in demand, that each summer the mountains were completely swept clean, and no snow could anywhere be seen.” Thus it is with the Bible. The world leaves to one side the source of blessing which is close at hand, and at great expense to soul and body, they seek some distant and costly substitute. It took a little effort to draw from the seemingly contradictory elements the boon of artificial ice. So it takes a little effort and some acquaintance with the Bible to draw from it its inexhaustible treasures, but the results repay the efforts. There is no book like the Bible to develop the mind. Take an elastic band. If you stretch it but a little, then it covers only a little distance; but if you stretch it hard, then it measures a good long portion. The books of a worldly nature deal only with local and transient questions; the mind is not greatly stretched in its effort to understand these; but to understand the great, eternal themes of the Bible a greater effort of the mind is demanded. The soul is aroused, and faith is quickened. The intellect is awakened to sense the realities of the invisible world; and stirred by the need of the preparation necessary to meet the standard of the living God, great efforts are put forth for individual improvement and for the salvation of the human race. The Bible reveals to us the invisible world. At first reading, there are many passages which we do not understand. But upon reading further, we find other passages which make intelligible the preceding one which we did not understand; or perhaps upon the second or even the third or fourth reading, we understand fully that which before was to us dark and meaningless. It is like a traveler whose train skirts the shore of a mighty ocean. For a moment he sees the billows rolling up against the shore, and the next moment his train has entered a tunnel. Here all is dark, and he passes, as it were, shut in to himself alone. But later the train issues from the tunnel; once more the sun shines in splendor, and the waves dash against the precipices. These experiences are repeated many times until it dawns upon the traveler that those waters so often interrupted to his view, form only one great and mighty body of water. Visible at times, and at times invisible, though always existing, it is like the great invisible world by which we are surrounded. The Bible is God's educator by which we learn of that world to whose judgment tribunal we are all passing. As it takes time to deepen our knowledge of the Word of God, so does it demand carefulness in reading. To read carelessly is to gain a false idea of God's great eternal truths. It is to put ourselves in wrong paths, from which it will cost great trouble to return. Some time ago I sent a card to a friend of mine, saying that I would arrive late at night on a certain day. But he, in reading the card, did not notice particularly the day, and he received the idea that I was to arrive the day before. In consequence he was at the train which was due late in the evening, and not finding me at the depot, he decided to go to the express which passed usually at one o'clock in the morning. But of course I was not on that train either. So my friend decided I must come on the train which passed a few hours later. Thus he lost his whole night's sleep only to discover the next day that he had not noticed particularly what the card said. Unhappily, there are many who have wrecked their faith by carelessly reading God's Word. And there are many others who are weak in spiritual life because of a lack of proper reading of the Bible. As surely as faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, so surely will careful and continued reading of the Bible deepen faith and spiritual life. Gathering the Gentiles to Israel
Jesus said: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.” John 10: 16. This is exactly the same thing that is stated in Isa. 56: 8. “The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.” And this also is the same thing that was stated by James at the meeting of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem: “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and will set it up: that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15: 14-18. The Lord is the same from the beginning, and his works are always the same. He works no differently in the closing part of the gospel from what he did in the beginning. He called Abraham when he was but one (Isa. 51: 2), and took him from among the heathen. Joshua 24: 2, 3. All along in the history of Israel he kept adding to them from among the heathen, as in the case of the harlot Rahab, and Ruth the Moabitess, both of whom are among the ancestors of Christ after the flesh. God also sent prophets to the Gentiles, as in the case of Jonah, warning them to10 repent; and one prophet, Jeremiah, was even before his birth ordained to be a prophet to the Gentiles. See Jer. 1: 5, where the word “nations” is exactly the same that is rendered elsewhere “heathen” or “Gentiles.” In the Bible, “nations,” “heathen,” and “Gentiles,” are all the same. Israel was begun by the calling of one from among the heathen; it was built up by the calling of others, in spite of the prejudices of those who did not understand the plan of the Lord, and who wished to make him as exclusive as they were; and the promise still is, “Yet will I gather others to Israel, to those of Israel who are already gathered.” And when all have been gathered out, through the preaching of the gospel, there will then be but one nation in all the earth; for the word of the Lord is, “The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish.” Isa. 60: 12. “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name One.” Zech. 14: 9. The people who are thus gathered to Israel will all be Sabbath-keepers. The characteristic of that nation will be that every individual will keep the truth, the law of God. It will be established in righteousness. Isa. 54: 14. Of those who obey the message, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters,” it is said, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 12. Who will accept the whole gospel, and not be content with man’s perversion of it? — Present Truth. “WAIT not for some great cross to show
How much with patience thou canst
bear,
Try now thy strength in bending low
To take the cross of daily care.
It may seem poor and small indeed,
But it may yet more needful be
To train thee first of all to tread
The path of true humility.” E. J. WAGGONER
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THE last message of the gospel is to fear God, and give glory to him, and to worship him as the Creator of the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Rev. 14:6, 7. To give God glory, is to keep his commandments. Compare Eccl. 12:13, 14, and Matt. 5:16. So here in giving glory to God as the Creator of the heavens and earth and sea, we have unmistakable reference to the Sabbath, which is the memorial of that work. Ex. 20:8-11. The last proclamation of the gospel makes the Sabbath of the Lord very prominent, because the Sabbath of the Lord means perfect rest and trust in the Lord, and that must be the condition of those who are prepared for his coming. Keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment does not mean salvation by works, but salvation by resting in the Lord. It is not a grievous thing, but a delight. He who finds the Sabbath a hardship has never kept it, and does not know what it is; for it is a delight. It is the holy of the Lord, and honorable. Isa. 58:3. Therefore let all beware how they despise it. There should be no misunderstanding here as to what day is meant. The Lord says, “My holy day.” There is therefore a certain day which he claims as his own above all other days. What day is that?—“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” That is, the seventh day of the week, the day that is commonly known as Saturday, and which follows the sixth day, Friday, which the Mohammedans regard as the prayer day, and which is followed by the first day of the week, known as Sunday, which the papacy has succeeded in palming off on many Christians instead of the Lord’s day. Jesus declared himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath day, speaking of the day which the Jews professed to observe, and which they falsely accused him of breaking. So the Lord’s day is the seventh day of the week, the day which in the time of Christ the Jews kept outwardly, and even now keep in the same manner, but with no knowledge of the spirituality of it. All who honor the Lord must also honor his day, which he says is honorable. But as with fasting, the results of the Sabbath do not end with the one day of the week which is set apart as the sign of resting in the Lord. The observance of the seventh day, on which God rested from all his work, means constant rest in him. It is not merely on that day that we are not to do our own pleasure, nor to speak vain words, but every day. At no time have we any right to find our own selfish pleasure, and to speak vanity. We are to be so intimate with the Lord, and so closely conformed to his life, that our religion will not consist in the observance of certain forms and ceremonies at certain times, but in a continual godly life. True Sabbath-keeping means godliness all the week. To limit the prohibition from seeking our own pleasure and doing our own ways and speaking vain words to the day of the Sabbath, is to miss the meaning of this entire chapter, which teaches continual and not occasional service. “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” The blessing of rest, which the Sabbath brings, will extend throughout the week, and the soul will revel in the deliciousness of it. The true Sabbath-keeper will be a king, set over the highest places of the earth, and his whole life will be one bright, glad day. O, accept this glorious message, and delight yourself in the Lord himself. Church Schools Needed
By B. E. HUFFMAN
WHEN we consider the times in which we are living, and the snares Satan is laying for the children and youth in the church to-day, the question comes to us, What can we do to save the children from the corruption that is in the world, and give them a home with Jesus? I think the answer is to be found in training the children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Teach them to know and believe the truth, and the truth will make them free,—free from the corrupting influences of the world,—and “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” The work of teaching begins with the infant in the mother’s arms. See “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, page 313. The first eight or ten years of the child’s life should be spent largely in the home school. During this time the child is rapidly developing physically, and becoming acquainted with the outside world. Difficult lessons from books should not be given young children, but their instruction should be largely from observation. This is also a period of developing love and obedience. Parents, filled with the spirit of Christ, should11 teach the children through love to obey all their requirements. If their little hearts are made familiar with the story of God’s love, if they can see that love worked out in the lives of their parents and teachers, they will be the more ready to recognize the Spirit’s pleading, and to surrender all to God. At about the age of eight or ten there comes a change in the child’s life. His mind begins to develop more rapidly, and he is ready to combine his observations with those made by others. You get him a book and start him to school. While he is in school, the one you have selected as teacher takes your place. It is the teacher’s duty to teach unquestioned obedience to all true principles and personal obligation to parents and to God. The instruction given should also develop implicit faith in the Word of God, for this is the faith period of the child’s life. Fairy tales, fables, myths, and Mother Goose rhymes should not form a part of the child’s course of study. They develop a love for light or sensational reading. He turns away from reproof and seeks flattery. One trained in this way is in a fair condition to fulfill 2 Tim. 4:3, 4. The text-books and libraries found in the public schools are filled with such reading, and the effect is clearly seen in the lives of the children. Many of our brethren find a way of escape and a remedy for all these evils in the church school. With a fully organized system of schools, carefully prepared text-books, and thoroughly trained teachers, we may well expect to see our children and youth saved to the service of God, instead of being lost in the service of the world. In the days of hurry and bustle we find ourselves face to face with a terrible danger, and it is this—no time to be alone with God. The world in these last days is running fast. We live in what is called the “age of progress,” and, you know, we must keep pace with the times. So the world says. But this spirit of the world has not confined itself to the world. It is, alas, to be found among the saints of God. And what is the result? The result is, no time to be alone with God, and this is immediately followed by no inclination to be alone with God. Let us turn to the pages of God’s Book. On scanning its precious pages, we find that the men of God—God’s mighty men—were those who had been in “the school of God,” as it has been well said; and his school was simply this: “In the desert alone with himself.” It was there they got their teaching. Far removed from the din of the haunts of men,—distant alike from human eye and ear,—there they met alone with God; there they were equipped for the battle. And when the time came that they stood forth in public service for God, their faces were not ashamed—nay, they had faces as lions; they were bold and fearless, yea, and victorious for God; for the battle had been won already in the desert with him.—London Christian. Rising With Christ
By John E. Hurlbut
Across my selfish, useless life,
As clouds across a winter’s sky,
There drifts the gloom of passion’s strife,
As unto self and sin I die:
Yet crucified with Christ I rise,
To life enriched with love’s surprise. For talents that I had not known,
Like seed concealed in snow-clad earth,
With spring to fruit and flowers grown,
Come forth to new and wondrous birth:
For crucified with Christ, I rise
To life beneath love’s summer skies. And places come where I can lift
My struggling self and humankind,
As sunshine through the storm-cloud’s rift
Will always waiting flowers find:
For crucified with Christ, I rise
To see the world through Jesus’ eyes. Thus one with God through Christ my Lord,
My life a song of praise shall be,
No jarring note, no broken chord,
Can mar or end the melody:
For crucified with Christ, I rise
To life with him that never dies.
— John E. Hurlbut. Love One Another
By T. E. Bowen
No better testimony can be given the world by the church than the manifestation of true love among its members. First there is to be unswerving love for one another. And then this genuine love should make a wider circle out into the world. Those who for twenty-five or thirty years have been familiar with the message we all love, know there is not now that manifestation of love among brethren that there was in the earlier years of the message. Surely this should be exactly the reverse, but somehow the love of many is waxing cold. That tender consideration for one another which should exist is lacking. There are those in the same church, those whose names are enrolled upon the same record book, who actually do not love one another. Some one's feelings have been hurt, perhaps unintentionally, and the offense is taken, harbored, as some precious treasure, and instead of union, which should exist, souls are drawn apart. This is as the enemy hoped, so he rejoices to see the breach widen. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Any brother that hateth any other brother, is a sinner. It makes no difference what this other brother has done. This has nothing to do with the matter. He is to love him. If he does not, this text says he should not profess (say) to love God; for all such profession is a lie. But, you say, this special brother, or this one sister, has said something terribly mean about me, and I can't love this one. Of course I love the brethren generally, but this one—well, really, I believe he ought not to belong to the church anyhow. I have— But stop. When did you pray last? I suppose so. Y-e-s; I prayed. I mean did you pray as Jesus told you to pray. Let us turn and read what he said: “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Well, I never saw this text in just that light before, and I have read it many times. Notice it says, “When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any.” This certainly means that we are to pray for that one whom it seems so hard to love. If we do not, and from our hearts forgive, we need expect no forgiveness from God. If all would thus pray, if all would thus forgive, it would be but a short time until the first love, so warm, tender, and true, would be seen in the church. Would you like to have this brother shut out of the golden city for anything he may have done out of the way to you? Now think. Surely not. Then can't you, for Christ's sake, forgive him, and do it once and for always? That there is no long-drawn conclusion between the act of loving and the act of forgiving, notice how the Saviour connects the two in his talk with Simon the leper, while sitting at meat with him. During the meal a woman, Mary Magdalene, who was a great sinner, came in and wiped his feet, which she had bathed with her tears of repentance, without saying one word. She had not audibly asked to be forgiven. In his heart Simon rebuked her and her Lord. Jesus, knowing his thoughts, as well as hers, told him a story. In it one man owed much, another little. Both were freely forgiven. Then followed the pointed question: “Tell me therefore, which of them will love . . . most?” Ah! here is the secret. He who is forgiven most will love most. It is the forgiveness that begets the love. And love only can forgive. The two are inseparable, and Jesus here brings them together in an impressive and beautiful manner. “If ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.” We have no assurance above the sinner if from our hearts we can not forgive and love the one who we know does not love us. It is noble to forgive. It is elevating. It is Christlike. It is the perfect way. Remember the Bible says you are to forgive and love that special erring one when you pray in secret. Don't wait for him to come to you and ask to be forgiven. That is late. It should all be over before then. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth [a continual state of living] is born of God, and knoweth God.” “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” Such who thus do will be welcomed into the everlasting kingdom prepared for those who love the Lord and his appearing in glory. The Legend of the Two Sacks
An ancient legend describes an old man traveling from place to place with a sack hanging behind his back, and another in front of him. In the one behind him he tossed the kind deeds of his friends, which were soon quite hidden from view, and forgotten. In the one hanging around his neck, under his chin, he threw all the sins which his acquaintances committed, and these he was in the habit of turning over and looking at as he walked along day by day, which naturally hindered his course. One day, to his surprise, he met a man coming slowly along, also wearing two sacks. “What have you here?” asked the old man. “Why, my good deeds,” replied Number Two. “I keep all these before me, and take them out and air them frequently.” “What is in the other big sack?” asked the first traveler. “It seems weighty.” “Merely my little mistakes. I always keep them in the sack hanging over my back.” Presently the two travelers were joined by a third, who, strange to say, also carried two sacks,—one under his chin, and one on his back. “Let us see the contents of your sacks,” exclaimed the first two travelers. “With all my heart,” quoth the stranger. For I have a goodly assortment, and I like to show them. This sack,” said he, pointing to the one under his chin, “is full of good deeds of others.” “Your sacks look full. They must be very heavy,” observed the old man. “There you are mistaken,” replied the stranger; “they are big, but not heavy. The weight is only such as sails are to a ship. Far from being a burden, it helps me onward.” “Well, your sack behind can be of little use to you,” said Number Two, “for it appears to be empty, and I see that it has a great hole in the bottom of it.” “I did that on purpose,” said the stranger; “for all the evil I hear of people I put in there, and it falls through and is lost. So, you see, I have no weight to draw me backwards.”—Exchange.