The Old and the New Way.—
A modern mother, who desires to save her daughter, and prays to that end, thus expresses it:— “My prayer has been answered: the pain thou must bear
Is the pain of the world’s life which thy life must share;
Thou art one with the world—tho’ I love thee the best,
And to save thee from pain I must save all the rest.
Well, with God’s help I’ll do it. “Thou art one with the rest, I must love thee in them.
Thou wilt sin with the rest, and thy mother must stem
The world’s sin. Thou wilt weep, and thy mother must dry
The tears of the world, lest her darling should cry.
I will do it, God helping.” —Charlotte Perkins Stetson. Now all this is exalted nonsense. One can be saved from pain only by saving all! One can be saved from sinning only by saving all!! The people of the world never have been saved that way, nor can they ever be. God saves all he does save by saving each one of the all. Salvation from sin is an individual work. Christ is not in this political Christianity. His is the old way, but it is the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation.