Altruism In Nature

        ''The flower does not live for itself. Beautiful, fragrant-making, the tree an incense-holder, hang the apple-blossoms for a day; tomorrow they have let go their hold upon the tree and are scattered over the ground in order that the fruit may grow. The fruit guards the seed until it is mature, then the fruit goes to decay that the seed may be released; the seed gives up its life that a new tree may come. What a glorious parable is this: life for life, the old dying for the new; every tree in the orchard, every grain-stalk in the corn-field, every dusty weed by the roadside living for others and ready to die for others. The doctrine of unselfish love and of sacrifice comes to us fragrant with the odor of ten thousand blossoms and rich with the yellow fruitage of ten thousand harvests. Self-preservation is no longer the first law of nature. The first law seems to be preparation for that which is coming next.'' John K. Willey.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45

Aimlessness

        It is told of Professor Huxley that once, when the British Association met in Dublin, he arrived late in the city; fearing to miss the president's address, he rushed from the train to the station platform, jumped on a jaunting-car, and said to the Celt in charge, "Drive fast; I'm in a hurry." Cabby whipt up his horse and proved to be another Jehu. Suddenly it flashed upon the passenger, bounding about the vehicle in a most undignified way, to shout to the driver above the rattle of the car, "Do you know where I want to go?" "No, yer honor," was Pat's laughing rejoinder, "but I'm driving fast all the while."

There are many who keep up a great activity, but who, for want of a definite aim or a great guiding ideal, accomplish little good in the world.

Uses of Affliction

 The Scriptures say that "It is good to be afflicted," and experience has her own confirmatory word:

       The waters go out over the fields, leaving a waste, where pasture and corn-field had been, and then gradually subside. What have the waters done? Have they ruined the labors of the year? They who do not know Egypt might think so indeed, but the peasants know that to that yearly flood they owe the fertility of the land, that it is that which makes the crops grow and enables them to gather in the harvest. So it is with the river of the grace of God: the waters at times overflow their banks, and one seems to be overwhelmed; the soul is borne down by the flood, all her fruitful land is covered by the waters - waters of desolation, bereavement, affliction. 'I am overwhelmed, undone; God has smitten me; my life is all wrong; I shall never smile again." Nay, the flood which terrifies thee is the water of the river of God. The water is washing away the impurity of thy soul, giving thee fertility; the fruits of love, patience, charity, shall grow now; it is not a flood of desolation, but of blessing and fruitfulness.

Dispise Not The Little Things

        A plainly dressed woman was noticed to be picking up something in the street; a poor slum street, where ragged, barefooted little children were accustomed to play. The policeman on the beat noticed the woman's action, and watched her very suspiciously. Several times he saw her stoop and pick up something and hide it in her apron. Finally he went up to her, and with a gruff voice and threatening manner demanded: " What are you carrying off in your apron?" The timid woman did not answer at first, whereupon the policeman, thinking she must have found something valuable, threatened her with arrest if she did not show him what she had in her apron. The woman opened her apron and revealed a handful of broken glass. "What do you want with that stuff?" asked the policeman. The woman replied: "I just thought I'd like to take it out of the way of the children's feet." Dear soul, she was doing what she could. How much sweeter the world would be if each of us would be careful to save the bare feet of the young and the weak!

''Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand.'' Zechariah 4:10

 

Manhood Recognized

 Jesus saw in the meanest man the possibilities of character. This is what Charles Wagner urges us to do in the following extract:

      '' Maintain toward the poor man and the infirm a courtesy, an attentiveness; find in your heart and in your love a sign that makes him recollect that he is a man. His misery is like a tomb in which self-respect sleeps buried. It is something to respect this tomb, to approach it with piety, to care for it and to keep a flower growing there; but each of these attentions is addrest to one that is dead, shows that you accept his death, and that you confirm it. Do more and do better. Remember that it is a living man that lies under the dust, slowly amassed, of days of suffering. Breathe upon this dust, disengage the human form; speak to Lazarus and make him come forth from the shrouds that surround him, from the night that covers him,'' "The Gospel of Life."

Willing Service

       A musician is not recommended for playing long, but for playing well; it is obeying God willingly, that is accepted; the Lord hates that which is forced, it is rather a tax than an offering. Cain served God grudgingly; he brought his sacrifice, not his heart. To obey God's commandments unwillingly is like the devils who came out of the man possessed, at Christ's command, but with reluctancy and against their will. Good duties must not be pressed and beaten out of us, as the waters came out of the rock when Moses smote it with his rod; but must freely drop from us, as myrrh from the tree, or honey from the comb. If a willing mind be wanting, there wants obedience, and make it a sweet-smelling savor unto to God. - T. Watson.

Falling Of Angel Tears

   And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said: Lo! I have sinned and done wickedly. II Samuel, 24:17

How loving are the angels to men; for they rejoice over one sinner that repenteth. There she is in that garret where the stars look between the styles. She is dying fast; but she cries, "Lord, I repent! Have mercy upon me, I beseech Thee." Did the bells ring in the street? Did men rejoice? An no! But, stay! There was one standing at her bedside who noted well that tear, --an angel who had come down from heaven to watch over this stray sheep, and mark its return; and no sooner was her prayer uttered than he clapped his wings, and there was seen flying up to the pearly gates a spirit like a star. The heavenly guards came crowding to the gate, crying: "What news, O son of fire? Has she turned to Christ?" "'Tis even so," said he. And then they told it through the streets to other bright angels, and the bells of heaven rang marriage peals, for Magdalene was saved.  Rev. C. H. Spurgeon.

Oh, for the sacred energy which struck

The harp of Jesse's son; or for a spark

Of that celestial flame which touched the lips

Of blest Isaiah, when the seraphim

With living fire descended, and his soul

From sin's pollution purged!

Hannah More

Angels to beckon me

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

Sarah Flower Adams

Chorus from Kenya sings, "Nearer My God To Thee"

Christ Is In Heaven

       Heaven would not be all that we love unless Christ was there. I would be unhappy, when I got to heaven, if I could not find him there who redeemed me, who died for me, who bought me with his own blood. Some one asked a Christian man once, what he expected to do when he got to heaven? He said he expected to spend the first thousand years in looking at Jesus Christ, and after that he would look for Peter, and then for James, and for John; and all the time he could conceive of would be joyfully filled with looking upon these great persons. But oh, it seems to me that one look at Jesus Christ will more than reward us for all that we have ever done for him down here; for all the sacrifices we can possibly make for him, just to see him; and not only that, but we shall become like him when we once have seen him, because we shall be like the Master himself. Jesus, the Savior of the world, will be there. We shall see him face to face. - D. L. Moody

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Behind The Purdah

       A young married woman, wife of a Mohammedan, was lying ill in one of the mission hospitals in North India. While there she was daily taught of the love and compassion of the Savior, and she soon desired to know and serve Him. Her husband was told of her wish and was exceedingly angry and had her removed immediately from the hospital. He prohibited the mission ladies from visiting her. But just before the conveyance came to take her away she called the doctor and missionary to her and said:

"I can be taken away from you, but not from Christ, for I can pray to Him even behind the purdah, but I want you to remember my desire. You know Jesus well, I only know Him a little; when you meet me at the judgment seat of heaven, just go to Him and tell Him who I am and how anxious I was to publicly confess Him on earth. Make it plain to Him, please." 

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Tiring Of Virtue?

       We have come to a time when multitudes are tired of law, and duty, honor, justice, and the old solid and substantial virtues of the fathers. Now and then this rebellious mood voices itself in the lips of some restless youth who exclaims boldly, "I hate the very word duty." Men are become like the cattle in the clover-field, that once the appetite is satisfied, tire of walking around knee-deep in rich, luscious grasses, and stick their heads through the fence, to strain toward the dog's kennel in the dusty lane. It is a singular fact that a colt in the field, up to its ears in clover, as soon as it has eaten and is full, envies the poor old forsaken horse, out in the lane, a mere bag of bones, deserted by its owner and left to die, and eating dirt in its hungry desire for a single mouthful of grass-roots. - Hillis

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Ezekiel 37:4
 

 "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" sung by Newsong

The Call Of God

In the summer of 1871, Rev. Robert W. McAlI and his wife, visiting Paris at the close of the war with Germany, and led by a deep desire to reach workingmen with the gospel, were giving away tracts in the hotels and on the public streets, when a working-man said: "If any one will come among us and teach us not a gospel of priestcraft and superstition, but of truth and liberty, many of us are ready to hear."

       Mr. McAll returned home, but above the murmur of the waves and the hum of busy life he heard that voice, "If any one will come and teach us ... we are ready to hear." He said to himself, "Is this God's call? Shall I go?" Friends said, "No!" But a voice within said, "Yes." And he left his English parish and went back, and in a district worse to work in than St. Giles in London he began to tell the old story of Jesus. Soon the little place was crowded, and a larger room became a necessity; and sixteen years later that one gospel hall has become 112, in which, in one year, have been held 14,000 religious meetings, with a million hearers, and 4,000 services for children, with 200,000 attendants. - Pierson, "The Miracles of Missions."

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Accidental Success

       Protogenes, the Greek painter, was an impatient man. In painting a picture of a tired, panting dog, he met with satisfactory success except that he failed in every attempt to imitate the foam that should have been seen on the dog's mouth. He was so much provoked over it, that he seized the sponge with which he cleansed his brushes, and threw it against the picture with the intention of spoiling it. It happened to strike on the dog's mouth, and produced, to the astonishment and delight of the painter, the very effect that he had labored so persistently to imitate. Frank H. Stauffer, The Epoch. 

 A master painter sometimes will make a happy accident but that is not what defines him as a true artist. A true master painter can and does repeat exactly the action that he or she knows will result in the affect needed. Make sure that your successes are not based upon mere accidents. Live intentionally a life that reflects the practice of living like Jesus.

 "When Someone Offends You"

Make-Believe

If all difference could be atoned as easily as that described in this extract from the Popular Magazine, much bloodshed would be saved:

Not long ago a Paris journalist, who had by some criticism offended a politician, received from him the following letter:

       "Sir--One does not send a challenge to a bandit for your species: one simply administers a cuff on the ears. Therefore, I hereby cuff both your ears. Be grateful to me for not having recourse to weapons

       "Yours truly, _______"

The journalist answered:

       "My Dear Sir and Adversary -- I thank you, according to your wish, for having sent me cuffs by post, instead of slaughtering me with weapons. Cuffed by post, I respond by dispatching you by post six bullets in the head. I kill you by letter. Please consider yourself dead from the first line of this epistle.

       "With a respectful salutation to your corpse, I am, 
       "Very truly yours, ________"

The intent to kill is present. Is not that reckoned in morals as bad as the overt act?

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Hardship Vicariously Borne

       Many, many years ago a fierce war raged in India between the English and Tipu Sahib. On one occasion several English officers were taken prisoners. Among them was one named Baird. One day the native officer brought in fetters to be put upon each of the prisoners, the wounded not excepted. Baird had been severely wounded and was suffering from pain and weakness.

       A gray-haired officer said to the native official, "You do not think of putting chains upon that wounded man?"

       "There are just as many pairs of fetters as there are prisoners," was the answer, "and every pair must be worn."

       "Then," said the noble officer, "put two pairs on me. I will wear his as well as my own." This was done. Strange to say, Baird lived to regain his freedom, and lived to take that city; but his noble, unselfish friend died in prison.

       Up to his death, he wore two pairs of fetters. But what if he had worn the fetters of all the prisoners? What if, instead of being captive himself, he had quitted a glorious palace, to live in their loathsome dungeon, to wear their chains, to bear their stripes, to suffer and die for them, that they might go free, and free forever? Sophie Bronson Titterington

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Hidden Sins

Donald Sage Mackay, in "The Religion of the Threshold," writes in substance as follows:

       Henry Drummond vividly describes the ravages of the African white ant. One may never see the insect possibly in the flesh, for it lives underground. But its ravages confront one at every turn. You build your house, perhaps, and for a few months fancy you have pitched on the one solitary site in the country where there are no white ants. But one day suddenly the door-post totters, and lintel and rafter come down together with a crash. You look at a section of the wrecked timbers and discover that the whole inside is eaten clean away. The apparently solid logs of which the rest of the house is built are now mere cylinders of bark, and through the thickest of them you can push your little finger. It is a vivid picture of the way in which concealed sins eat out the pith of the soul. To the outward eye everything may remain the same, but the fiber of character has been punctured through and through, till the whole nature is corroded.

http://www.ted.com Speaking at TED in 1998, Rev. Billy Graham marvels at technology's power to improve lives and change the world -- but says the end of evil, suffering and death will come only after the world accepts Christ. A legendary talk from TED's archives.

Through A Glass Darkly

      We are strangers in the universe of God. Confined to that spot on which we dwell, we are permitted to know nothing of what is transacting in the regions above and around us. By much labor we acquire a superficial acquaintance with a few sensible objects which we find in our present habitation; but we enter and we depart, under a total ignorance of the nature and laws of the spiritual world. One subject in particular, when our thoughts proceed in this train, must often recur upon the mind with peculiar anxiety; that is the immortality of the soul, and the future state of man. Exposed as we are at present to such variety of afflictions, and subjected to so much disappointment in all our pursuits of happiness, why, it may be said, has our gracious Creator denied us the consolation of a full discovery of our future existence, if indeed such an existence be prepared for us? 

      Reason, it is true, suggests many arguments in behalf of immortality; Revelation gives full assurance of it. Yet even that Gospel, which is said to have brought “life and immortality to light,” allows us to see only “through a glass darkly.” “It doth not yet appear what we shall be.” Our knowledge of a future world is very imperfect; our ideas of it are faint and confused. It is not displayed in such a manner as to make an impression suited to the importance of the object. The faith even of the best men is much inferior, both in clearness and in force, to the evidence of sense; and proves on many occasions insufficient to counterbalance the temptations of the present world. Happy moments indeed there sometimes are in the lives of pious men; when, sequestered from worldly cares, and borne up on the wing of divine contemplation, they rise to a near and transporting view of immortal glory. But such efforts of the mind are rare, and cannot be long supported. When the spirit of meditation subsides, this lively sense of a future state decays; and though the general belief of it remains, yet even good men, when they return to the ordinary business and cares of life, seem to rejoin the multitude, and to resume the same hopes, and fears, and interests, which influence the rest of the world. -by Rev. Hugh Blair, D. D.

When Help Goes Unrecognized

      A night of terror and danger, because of their ignorance, was spent by the crew of a vessel off the coast of New Jersey.

      Just before dark a bark was discovered drifting helplessly, and soon struck her bows so that she was made fast on a bar, and in momentary danger of going down.

      A line was shot over the rigging of the wreck by a life-saving crew, but the sailors did not understand that it was a line connecting them with the shore, that they might seize and escape. All signs failed to make them understand this. So all night the bark lay with the big waves dashing over it, while the crew, drenched and shivering and terrified, shouted for help.

      In the morning they discovered how unnecessarily they had suffered, and how all night there was a line right within reach by which they might have been saved. -- Evangelical Messenger

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