Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1756-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more
Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Newspaper Page Text
a given time. The one process is material and natural and is fairly within our control. The other process is spiritual and supernatural, and is entirely beyond our control. Giving of our increased wealth to beneficence is the result of right thinking and proper de cisions on the subject. There is no "taking of thought" nor reaching of decisions by which any man can add to his own stature or save a soul from death. Of all the means of grace, giving of our substance requires the least thought and effort and sacrifice and devotion on the part of the worshipper. It is simple and direct and can be systematically done by people of all degrees of wealth, intelligence and spirituality. There are many who give regularly and generously of their substance to the maintenance of the Church and her enterprises, who rarely con tribute their presence at her worship. That giving is one measure of Christian faithfulness is well understood; and in the hu man administration of affairs, ample finances enable us to enlarge the scope of our activities and multiply our efforts. Like the farmer who has increased his acreage, we naturally look for a larger harvest. But when the farmer has given the best of his intelligence and industry he must wait on the season. One year his har vest will surpass all his expectation, and the next all his hopes will be disappointed. Be cause in things material, as in things spiritual, "it is God who gives the increase." There is, however, this important and most encouraging difference between the natural and the spiritual seed sown. The former must ger minate within a limited time or lose its power, and after germination it may fail to come to maturity. The latter awaits, unimpaired, God's time for germination, and once quickened will assuredly bring forth fruit. Our sole responsibility is to assure ourselvi-s of the equality of the seed and then to "sow beside all waters." Therefore instead of dis couraging God's people by questions which imply unfaithfulness on their part in the mat ter of producing a harvest, should we not lath er encourage them to "multiply their seed sown" and leave results with Him Who says, "My word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." San Antonio, Texas. HAVING A WORTHY LIFE-PURPOSE. The Young Men's Club of the First Presby terian church of Savannah arranged for a Guest Night which was observed on a recent Sunday. Every member of the congregation was requested to bring a guest to church. A special song service was conducted by Mr. J. 11. McAfee, General Secretary of the Y. M. C. A. The following is the sermon preached by the pastor, Rev. A. F. Carr, D. I). Phil. 3:13, 14, "This one thing I do ? ? ? I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." There is a difference betwen traveling and wandering. The traveler moves toward some destination. The wanderer does not. The wanderer is aimless. Aimlessness is incompati ble with progress. It dooms the life that it possesses to failure. In order that our lives may count for the most," two things are neces sary. We must conserve that which the past has gained, and we must gain new riches as time goes by. We must keep our inheritance and we must constantly add to it new attain ments. We must all be conservatives, and at the same time we must all be progressives. The Lord Jesus tells us this in His statement. 41 Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven bringeth out of his treasure things new and old."" Aimlessness defeats both these results. It allows the inheritance to be dissipated, and it gathers no new riches on life's pathway. There are three needs for a worthy life pur pose which we can readily recognize. One is that we may find our right adjustment to the world '8 activities. There are many things go ing on in the world. There are a great many more than any one person can have a part in. And it is a mistake to try to have a part in too many of them. There is an old saying that the Jack of all trades is good at none. You may learn to do a great many things, but if you want to do anything really well, you must concentrate your energies on that in which you most of all want to succeed. The people who succeed in life are not always the most ca pable. More frequently they are those who attend to their business. And the people who fail in life are not always those who are in capable, not by any means. More frequently they are those who destroy their possible effi ciency by trying to have a part in a great many things, but not trying persistently to do any one thing well. The sea of life is strewn with derelicts.- These derelicts, human wrecks on the ocean of time, frequently contain good timbers. They came to wreckage, not because they were unseawortliy, but because the loit ered on the high seas. They did not keep a definite port in view. And the ships that have made port and are seen riding proudly at anchor in the harbor of achievement, are not built of any better timbers than are found in the derelicts drifting on the tide. They have made port because they had a port to make, and they kept on sailing. One of the surprises of my life has been in regard to some of the men whom I knew in college. We had some brilliant fellows there whom we thought would do wonderful things when they should get out into the world's activities. But they have dis appointed the expectations of their friends. We had some other students there who were slow to learn, and nobody thought they would ever accomplish much. Yet some of those dull fellows have succeeded in a remarkable way. The explanation is that the brilliant ones found that they could get through without much work, and give a large proportion of their time to other matters. The dull ones found that, if they got through their course, they had to stick to their studies. Whatever else they learned, they learned the lesson of persevering effort. That is the first lesson in the school of success. Our second need for a worthy life purpose is in order to the unifying and developing of the possibilities of our own nature. We have within us the marvelous possibilities of person ality. These are largely undeveloped. Direc tion must be given them, that in their devel opment we may become whole persons, which really means holy persons. If a hundred open ings be drilled in the boiler of a locomotive engine it would be interesting to see the steam spurting out in all directions. But that would not move the engine. In order that the steam may do its work it must be controlled. It must be allowed to escape only through the piston head. It then drives the piston rod, and that drives the wheels, and the engine moves off down the track like a monster bird on wings. Those powers that are latent within you must, likewise, be rightly controlled and rightly guided that their work may be done and their destiny gained. As you travel over the country you find numerous little streams of water flowing in a variety of directions. A branch flowing east joins a creek flowing south, a muddy stream flowing north meets a clear stream flowing west. Finally all these little waters are united in the river, and are then carried in one direction and in united movement to the sea. So it must be with the activities that fill your days. A thousand shortlived purposes pull you in a thousand dif ferent directions, and fill your day with a thousand needful deeds. But left to them selves these do not get you anywhere. Left to themselves they leave you at sunset where they found you at the dawning of the day. There must be the one purpose, which is as the river, the one purpose to which all these lesser pur poses are tributary, and in which they are given their final direction. The earth, the other planets, the moons and asteroids of the solar system are all moving all the time in every direction relatively one to another. They approach one another ami recede from one an other, they cross one another's paths, and pre sent a scene of apparently hopeless confusion. But the sun himself is also moving all the time with majestic sweep through space. And all these lesser members of the solar system, while moving in every direction relatively one to an other, also move with the sun, and are carried by him in one unchanging course with united movement toward his far away unknown goal. Likewise there must be the one movement in your life which carries with it all the other movements ? the one purpose which is as the sun in the solar system, which keeps you on the unchanging course to the final consumma tion. Our third need for a worthy life purpose is that it may put earnestness into our lives. Earnestness does not mean a long face. It is not synonymous with solemnity. It is entirely consistent with cheerfulness, enjoyment and fun. But it is absolutely inconsistent with aimlessness. And it is just as absolutely indis pensable to all worthy achievement. The peo ple who do something are those who are in earnest in what they do. And it is absolutely certain that without earnestness we will not do anything worth while. But earnestness is not a matter of direct and immediate volition. We cannot say, "I will be earnest," and then be so, with nothing to inspire it within us. Earnestness comes from a worthy purpose. When some great desire takes possession of us and we are inspired with a great purpose from that desire, then earnestness fills our lives and noble achievement becomes possible. Then we can respond to the appeal, "Go on with your work and be strong, Halting not in your ways, Balking the end half won For an instant dole of praise. Stand to your work ami he wise, Certain of sword and pen, You are neither ehildren nor gods, But men in a world of men." The greatest man in human history summed up the explanation of his wonderful achieve ment in the words of our text, "This one thing I do." St. Paul had found a life purpose which gave him his adjustment to the world's activi ties. He knew his work, and he did it. He had found a life purpose which unified and in spired the possibilities of his own nature. And he had found a life purpose which tilled him with an inspired and inspiring earnestness. "This one thing I do ? ? ? I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." It is the Christian ideal of life. It is a complete ideal. It will never become obsolete. It will never be improved on. Let us see how its elements answer to the needs