LESSONS LEARNED BY THE WAYSIDE.
By Anna C. White
FAITH and works are good, but the faith that works is the best thing in the Christian experience. The pure in heart are by natural outcome pure in life, and come into close and intimate communion with God. All other qualities sink into insignificance beside this—a deep consecration to God and to his work. “The minister is the sole responsible public teacher of the young as well as the old in his parish.” Christ’s first command was, “Feed my lambs;” his second, “Feed my sheep.” The average church of to-day fails in the primary purpose for which it was organized, because it has no food for its members. If the discouraged and weak ones were helped more and talked about less, their ranks would be rapidly thinned; and the helpers themselves would grow in love and Christlikeness. God never gives up till he sees no further possibility of a sinner’s conversion. Strong in God’s sight does not always mean strong in the eyes of our fellow men. If the state in all its individuals cuts loose from religion, after it has risen by religion, anarchy will follow. The light in the heart shines out first at the hearth. No individual soul can shut itself up in secret isolation. Its circle of influence ever widens and broadens. It touches every other soul with whom it comes in contact, whether by a sympathetic clasp of love and charity or by the cold, relentless grasp of worldly ambition and philosophical reasoning. The world and progress are marching rapidly these days. Satan and his servants are keeping step with them, improving every opportunity as it comes. Where are the heralds of salvation and the forerunners of Christ?