TO MY BROTHER DOWN THE STREET.
By Eugene A. Brown
To my brother down the street (who stands behind the bar): To-day I have been thinking of the brotherhood of man; that God made all nations of one blood upon the face of the earth; that our Saviour died to save you from your sins as well as me. Yea, He died to save even the trembling, wo-stricken wretches that have wasted their precious life at the fountain of poison over which you preside. My brother, you are assuming a heavy debt. You will surely have to pay it some day, every farthing of it. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” You looked upon your brother across the bar, upon a man—or perhaps a boy—decently clothed, clean, and thrifty. You robbed him of it all. He stands before you again—ragged, unkempt, poverty-stricken, dirty. But he is your brother still. Once he met you—honest and upright. Now he grovels at your feet. But, O, the shame is yours! ’Twas your brother that you robbed of his innocence, his manhood, his every opportunity in life. But you will meet him again, my brother. We will all appear before that kind Father who made us of one blood. Some will have laid aside their robes of iniquity—and our great elder Brother died for these. But some will come up then to give their own account. Yes, my brother, the great first day of the month, the great day to pay every debt, will arrive. Your account is not balanced. You are heavily in debt. You have a mortgage on your soul. Jesus came to save His people from their sins. My brother, are you ready to be saved?
EUGENE A. BROWN.