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Review and Herald, Vol. 22, No. 25.

Lovest Thou Me

Review and Herald

Nov 17, 1863

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 17, 1863

Lovest Thou Me.

By Nevins

We make a profession of Christianity, and go along from day to day, and perhaps from year to year, supposing that we are Christians, and that all is well with us; that we are equipped for the encounter of death, and prepared to meet our Judge, and take our place in heaven, when it may be we are not able to answer till after long consideration, and then with not a little doubt and misgiving, so simple a question in Christian experience, as “Lovest thou me?” Peradventure the utmost we dare say, after all our reflection and self-research, is, “I really do not know how it is, I hope I love him.” This will never do. The question, “Lovest thou me,” is one which every person, making any pretensions to Christianity, ought to be able to answer affirmatively at once. Indeed we ought not to give our Saviour any occasion to ask the question. It is very much to our discredit—it should make us blush and be ashamed—that our manifestations of love to him are of so equivocal a character as to leave the very existence of the affection doubtful, and to render it necessary for him to interrogate us in reference to it.
There are many less lovely beings than Christ that have not to ask us if we love them. We act in such a manner toward them that they cannot for a moment doubt the fact of their being dear and precious to us. They do not want our words to assure them. They have our uniform conduct and deportment making the silent yet most forcible declaration. Has your parent to ask you if you love him, or your child? Have husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and friends, to ask this question of each other? Oh no—none but Christ has to ask us if we love him! And he has not only to ask the question, but to wait, sometimes a long while, for an answer. We have to consider and go into an examination, and call up our conduct to the bar of judgment, and dissect our very hearts, before we can venture an answer. This is strange. It is not so in other cases. If a relative or a friend, more for the gratification of a renewed expression of our love, than from any doubt of its existence, ask us if we love him, do we keep him waiting for an answer? Do we say, “Well, I must consider; I must examine myself. I hope I do.” No indeed. We are ready with our affirmative. Nor is it a cold yes we return; but we express our surprise at the question. “Love you!” And we assure the person in the most emphatic and ardent language that we love him, and all our manner shows him that we speak out of the abundance of the heart. But we do not express surprise that our Saviour should ask us if we love him. We do not wonder at the question from him. We know too well how much reason we give him to doubt our affection.
Why should there be such a difference in favor of the earthly objects of our love? Is not Christ as lovely as those other beings—as deserving of affection—as attractive of love? He is altogether lovely. Are they? He possesses infinite loveliness. Nor does that express all. He is essential Love. Nor love at rest, but in motion; nor far off, but near; exerting infinite energy in action, exercising infinite fortitude in suffering; earth the scene, and man the object. It is he who asks, “Lovest thou me?” And he of whom he asks it, is this man, the intelligent spectator of all this love; aye, its chosen and cherished object.
If Christ was not nearly related to us, as those other beings are, that might be the reason of the difference in their favor. But who is so closely related to us, so intimately joined to us, as Christ? He formed us, and in him we live, move, and have our being. Does not that imply nearness? Is he divine, while we are human? He is human as well as divine—one of the brotherhood of flesh and blood. He came down to earth to take our nature on him, nor went up to heaven again without it. There it is—our humanity allied to divinity, divinity radiant through it on the throne. Is he not related to us? He says of every one who does the will of his Father, “the same is my brother, and sister and mother.” That alone relates us to him more than all human ties. But that is not all. Christ is the husband of the church. He is one with it. If we are his disciples, he is the vine and we the branches—he the head and we the members. Yea, “we are the members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” Does not this express a near and intimate relation? Now it is one so near to us, so joined to us, who asks, “Lovest thou me?”
Have our friends, whom we are so conscious of loving, done more for us than Christ, or made greater sacrifices for us? Are we under greater personal obligations to them?
“Which of all our friends, to save us, Could or would have shed his blood? But this Saviour died to have us Reconciled, in him, to God.”
And yet we know we love those friends, but this friend! we know not whether we love him or not—we only hope we do!
Do other beings find such difficulty in loving Christ? and are they at such a loss to know when they do love him? Oh no. His Father testifies, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And he is called also his well-beloved, his dear Son. All the angels of God love and worship him, and delight to ascribe infinite worthiness to him. It is only men who find any difficulty in loving Christ. It is only the human heart that hesitates and hangs back. Is there any reason for this—any reason why men should be the last to love Christ, and why they should love him least of all who behold his loveliness? I see none, but I think I see reasons many, and strong, and tender, why we should be first, and most forward, and warmest in our affection to him. How many worlds he passed to alight on this! How many created natures he rejected, when from all of them he chose the human to be united to divinity! It may be said of other creatures, “He loved them;” but of men only can it be added, “and gave himself for them.” And yet who is so backward to love him as redeemed man? Not tardy merely. Oh how parsimonious of his love—loving him so little, that often he cannot ascertain if he loves at all! Shame, where is thy blush; and sorrow, where thy tear?
Oh how different Christ's love to us from ours to him! We have not to ask him if he loves us. If any one should ever ask that question of Jesus, he would say, “Behold my hands and my feet.” He bears on his very body the marks of his love to us. But what have we to point to as proofs of our love to him? What has it done for him? What suffered? Oh, the contrast! His love, so strong! Ours, so weak! His, so ardent! Ours, so cold! His, so constant! Ours, so fickle! His, so active! Ours, so indolent! So high, so deep, so long, so broad his love, its dimensions cannot be comprehended, it passeth knowledge; while ours is so limited, and so minute, it eludes research!
“Dear Lord! and shall we ever live At this poor dying rate? Our love so faint, so cold to thee, And thine to us so great!” —Nevins.

Thoughts on the Second Advent of Christ.

By J. A. SMITH.

THERE are various views concerning Christian baptism, the Sabbath, sanctification, and other Bible subjects. There are also different views concerning the second advent of Christ. Indeed there has never been a Bible subject promulgated, but negative arguments have been brought to bear against it by somebody. Now the people of God are scripturally looking for theliteral second coming of Jesus Christ to take place in the future. This causes some investigation on the subject among their opponents, and hence they come to various conclusions on the matter. Some believe that the second coming of Christ was at the destruction of Jerusalem; some think he comes at the death of the saints; and some believe that he comes at the conversion of sinners. Thus they have their conclusions at variance from the right one. They have the second coming of Christ at every place but the right one.
When was Christ to come, and how was he to come? We have said that some believe that he came the second time at the destruction of Jerusalem, some believe that he comes at the death of saints, and others believe that he comes at the conversion of sinners. Before we notice these positions we will show what will take place in connection with the second advent of Christ.
1. The Scriptures teach that Christ will come the second time. Heb. ix, 28. "And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." We learn from this that Christ was to come the second time, not millions of times, as would be the case if he comes every time a saint dies, or when sinners are converted. See John xiv, 1-3. Here are the words of Christ himself. He here speaks of his ascension and descension. This is clear proof that he will come again from whence he has gone. See also the following scriptures: Acts i, 9-11; Titus ii, 13; 1 John iii, 2.
2. Christ's second coming will be literal and visible to all. This is very clearly taught by several texts of Scripture. Acts i, 9-11. "And when he had spoken these things while they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward Heaven as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, which said, 'Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven.'" From this we learn that Christ was taken up to Heaven in a cloud. The disciples beheld him as he ascended; therefore, he must have been personal and visible. While they were looking steadfastly up toward Heaven, two angels stood by them and informed them that this same Jesus will come in like manner. How did Jesus ascend to Heaven? Personally and visibly. How will he come again? Personally and visibly. This is evident from Matt. xxiv, 30. There we learn that the tribes or nations of the earth will mourn. Why are they going to mourn? Because they will see the Son of man come in the clouds of heaven, as taught in Acts i, 2. If the second advent of Christ will be spiritual, how could the tribes of the earth see him? They could not. See also Mark xiv, 62; 1 John iii, 2; Rev. i, 7.
3. The sinners then living at the time of the second advent will be destroyed. This is clearly taught in 2 Thess. i, 6-10. Here we learn that Jesus will be revealed from Heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints. See also chapter ii, 7, 8; Matt. xiii, 24-30, 37-43; Luke xvii, 26-30. From the above passages we learn that all sinners then living will be destroyed. We also learn, by consulting Rev. xvi, that the wrath of God will be poured out without mixture upon the wicked in connection with the second appearing of Christ.
4. The righteous living will be changed, and the righteous dead resurrected. See 1 Cor. xv, 51, 52. "Behold I shew you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Compare this with 1 Thess. iv, 13-17; also see 1 John iii, 2; Phil. iii, 20, 21.
5. The immortal saints will ascend to Heaven with their Lord. John xiii, 36. "Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me, and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go ye cannot come, so now I say to you." Verse 36. "Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him: Whither I go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterward." When will the disciples follow him to where he has gone? Answer, "I will come again," says Christ, "and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." John xiv, 1-3.
6. The earth will be left desolate. This is evident from the facts already noticed. The wicked will all be destroyed, and the saints will be caught up to meet their descending Lord, and be ever with him in the Father's house, which is now in Heaven. The earth then will be destitute of all living inhabitants. Behold the day of the Lord cometh cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isa. xiii, 9. When will the day of the Lord come? Answer, In connection with the second coming of Christ. The seven last plagues, which is the wrath of God, are poured out in connection with Christ's second coming, and they mark the commencement of the day of the Lord. Both the day of the Lord and the second coming of our Lord will come as a thief. Matt. xxiv, 43, 44; Rev. iii, 3; and xvi, 15; 1 Thess. v, 2, 4; 2 Pet. iii, 10, and iv, 13-28; Rev. xxv, 22, 33; Zeph. i, 2, 3, 7-18; iii, 6-8; Matt. xiii, 24-30, 37-43; Luke xvii, 26-30; 2 Thess. i, 6-10; ii, 7-8; Rev. xix, 11-21. Now these all refer to one period, when all the wicked will be destroyed, which will be at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
We have clearly shown what will take place at the second advent of Christ. We have shown that he will come the second time, and only the second time, not millions of times, which would be the case if he comes every time sinners are converted or saints die; we have shown that his second coming will be personal and visible to all; that all, both righteous and wicked, will behold him when he shall make his appearing in the clouds of Heaven; we have shown that all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and that all the wicked will be destroyed with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power; we have shown that the righteous living will be changed, and the righteous dead will be resurrected; we have shown that all the righteous will go to Heaven with their ascending Lord; and we have shown that the earth will be left desolate of all living inhabitants, from the facts that the righteous will all go to Heaven, and all the sinners will be destroyed.
Let the reader mark all these events as to take place at the second advent of Christ. These events were to take place at the second advent of Christ, at whatever time that was to take place. Whenever Christ makes his advent, we may look for all these things to transpire. We are now prepared to notice those different views concerning the second advent of Christ.
Did he come at the destruction of Jerusalem? We affirm that he did not. The following reasons show that he did not make his second advent at the destruction of Jerusalem:
1. The followers of Jesus Christ were to be persecuted for a time, times, and the division of a time, of 1260 years. The destruction of Jerusalem was in A. D. 70; hence the period of 1260 years must be after A. D. 70; so it must be evident that the saints were on the earth 1260 years, at least, after the second advent of Christ, if his second advent was at the destruction of Jerusalem; hence they were not redeemed at his second advent as the Scriptures teach they will be. Again, let us look at the signs of the second advent, which were the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars. The darkening of the sun and moon was to take place within the limits of the 1260 years, or the days of the persecution of the people of God, which days commenced A. D. 538. Add the 1260 years to this period, and we find the end A. D. 1798. Before these days should be quite over, the sun and moon were to be darkened. Mark xiii, 24. We have seen that the 1260 must be after the destruction of Jerusalem. They could not be before that event. The signs in the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars, were to take place to show that Christ's second coming was at hand, even at the door. The destruction of Jerusalem was A. D. 70, and these signs were not fulfilled till in the years 1780 and 1833. Then if Christ came at the destruction of Jerusalem, he came before the signs of his second coming took place. These signs were not given to show that he had come, but to show that he would; that his coming was at hand, even at the door; but those who have the second coming of Christ at the destruction of Jerusalem, have his coming a long time before the signs of his coming take place. Hence it is evident that the second coming of Christ was not at the destruction of Jerusalem, because it was not preceded by the aforesaid signs of his coming.
2. The second proof that the second advent of Christ was not at the destruction of Jerusalem, is drawn from the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation speaks of the second coming of Christ, which was to take place yet in the future when that book was written. Chap. iii, 3; xvi, 15. When was the book of Revelations written? It is generally conceded to have been written A. D. 96, which was 26 years after the destruction of Jerusalem A. D. 70. Hence we see that the second advent of Christ was still in the future in A. D. 96. Then how can any one believe that he came at Jerusalem 26 years previous? The book of Revelation is a prophetic book, and the things contained therein were to meet their fulfillment still in the future, when the book was written; therefore, the second advent of Christ was still in the future also.
3. We have seen what is to take place at the second advent of Christ. At whatever time Christ should come, these specifications were to occur at the same time. Did these all occur at the destruction of Jerusalem? If they did not occur then, it is evident that Christ did not make his second advent there. Did he come personally and visibly then? Did the tribes or nations of the earth mourn then? Were all the sinners destroyed then from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power? Were the saints of God resurrected then? and did all the living saints then put on immortality? Did they all mount up with wings as eagles, and go to the Father's house, so to be ever with the Lord? Was the earth left desolate without any inhabitants? Oh, no. Then it must be evident that the Lord Jesus did not come the second time without sin unto salvation then. Jesus promised when he should come again he would receive his disciples unto himself, that where he was there they should be also. But if he came at the destruction of Jerusalem, he did not fulfill his promise. Instead of the disciples saying, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us, this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation, Isa. xxv, 9, they fled from Jerusalem into the mountains, as they would from a sinking ship. This they were commanded to do in Matt. xxiv, 15, 16; Luke xxi, 20, 21.
It is evident that Christ did not come at the destruction of Jerusalem. He did not promise he would come then. The disciples were not required to look for him then. They had not been waiting for him to come then, neither were they expecting to be redeemed then.
If Christ's second advent was at the destruction of Jerusalem, he will never come again; for he was only to come the second time; and if he came at Jerusalem, he had not come at the death of any of the saints, or at the conversion of any sinners previous to that time. Neither has he come since on any of these occasions. As we have proved, the saints of God were to be redeemed from earth and go to Heaven at the second advent of Christ; but they were not redeemed at the destruction of Jerusalem, and, of course, never will be redeemed. When they die, they never will be resurrected. Their only hope is in this life; therefore, they are of all men the most miserable. They that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished; yea, "death is an eternal sleep." All this is the result of the doctrine that Christ came at the destruction of Jerusalem.
2. Does Christ come at the death of the saints? If he does, he made his second advent before the destruction of Jerusalem. Stephen is the first martyr of whom we have any record after the ascension. Then Christ made his appearing there. That was his second advent. When the next disciple died, Christ came again. Was this the second time? It would be the third time! If he came every time a saint died, each successive time that he came, would be adding a number to the times that he had previously come; and if this be the case, he came, and does come oftener than he promised to come.
It is absurd to claim that Christ's second coming is at the death of his saints. The Scriptures teach that Christ was only to come the second time; but if he comes every time a saint dies, has he not come millions of times? Paul says, "And unto them that look for him, shall he appear the second time," not millions of times. Heb. ix, 28. Here Paul says he shall appear. How? Visibly, because they are going to look for him. I do not see how a person could look for him, if his coming is spiritual, and of course could not be seen.
We have shown what will take place at the second advent of the Saviour. Do all these events occur at the death of saints? Oh, no. No one believes they do. Well then, Christ does not come at death.
3. Does he come at the conversion of sinners? If he does, he does not come at the death of saints, neither did he come at Jerusalem. If his second advent was to be at the conversion of sinners, he made his second advent on the day of Pentecost, when there were about three thousand souls converted. A few days afterward he came again, when about five thousand souls were converted. This, on this view, was his third coming. But Christ only promised to come the second time. The things that are to occur at the second advent of Christ forbid the idea of his coming at the conversion of sinners. These things do not transpire at the conversion of sinners; hence it is evident that he does not come then. Christ has nowhere promised to come at the conversion of sinners, or at the death of saints. The apostles never taught that his coming was at such times, and the whole Bible is silent on that matter.
The Bible teaches that Christ's second coming is to be personal and visible to all. It declares that the inhabitants of the earth shall see him, which they could not do if his coming was not literal. The people of God will know when he comes, and so will the wicked. The wicked will call for rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from his awful presence. But the righteous will say in that day: "Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him and he will save us; this is the Lord, we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Isa. xxv, 9.
That blessed day is near at hand. God's people are now waiting for the Lord. They may be taught by different ones that he came at the destruction of Jerusalem, or that he comes at the conversion of sinners, or when saints die. They may be told that Jesus Christ is in the secret chamber or in the desert, and that any just person is Christ, or that any one can be Christ; they do not believe this kind of doctrine. But when that glorious day shall come, when Jesus shall be revealed in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory, they shall lift up their voices in triumph, and say, Lo, this is our God. This is the Saviour for whom we have been waiting, and he will save us. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. May the Lord hasten that glad glad day in his own good time.
Libertyville, Iowa.

Thy Will Be Done.

By Whittier

We see not, know not, all our way Is night: with Thee alone is day. From out the torrent's troubled drift, Above the storm our prayer we lift, Thy will be done!
The flesh may fail, the heart may faint, But who are we to make complaint, Or dare to plead in times like these The weakness of our love of ease? Thy will be done!
We take with solemn thankfulness Our burthen up, nor ask it less, And count it joy that even we May suffer, serve, or wait for thee, Whose will be done!
Though dim as yet in tint and line, We trace Thy picture's wise design, And thank Thee that our age supplies The dark relief of sacrifice. Thy will be done!
And if in our unworthiness, Thy sacrificial wine we press, If from Thy ordeal's heated bars Our feet are seamed with crimson scars, Thy will be done!
If, for the age to come, this hour Of trial hath vicarious power, And, blest by thee, our present pain Be Liberty's eternal gain, Thy will be done!
Strike, Thou, the Master, we Thy keys, The anthem of the destinies! The minor of Thy loftier strain Our hearts shall breathe the old refrain, Thy will be done! —Whittier.

"Be Courteous."

We are living in an age proverbial for its coarse, uncultivated, disrespectful, disobedient, corrupt, children. Hence this is one of the tendencies of the age against which the children of the remnant should labor with all their powers. To do this it should be remembered, first of all, that there is an express injunction in the New Testament to be courteous, or polite. It is thus a part of the faith of Jesus, and we are not up to the standard of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, if we are faulty in this respect.
We do not mean by politeness the hollow-hearted and foppish mummery to which the world generally attach the name, but true, genuine, Christian courtesy, or politeness, which every man, woman, boy and girl should possess, and which, if possessed, will show itself in a hundred ways in every day's intercourse with one another. We therefore commend, especially to the young among Sabbath-keepers, the following narration; for, although their experience may not be altogether like what is there set forth, it will still serve to illustrate the principle, and aid them in applying it to their own lives. An uncivil, passionate, impolite nonprofessor is a disgrace to himself, but only to himself; while the same traits in a professor, disgrace not himself only, but also the religion which he professes. U. S.
"How funny!" said Junius Ware, putting down his Testament. "I didn't suppose God cared anything about our being polite. I thought he wanted us to be good, and no matter about the rest."
"Being good is first of all," said his mother, "and it is better to be rough in manner, with an honest heart, than to be a perfect gentleman outside, and selfish and dishonest inside. But whoever obeys all Christ's words cannot help being good and polite also."
Junius trotted his foot without speaking, for a few minutes, as he always did when he was thinking, then he spoke out quick and heartily:
"Well, I've made up my mind now to try to 'be courteous' all the time. I will begin this very minute and if I forget I want you should say 'be c,' low, so no one will notice it but me."
Junius did not forget, all the morning. He said "excuse me," so pleasantly, when he stepped on Aunt Joanna's dress, that she was appeased and did not make the remark she had on her mind about boys' doing nuisances; he laid his puzzle cheerfully down when it was almost right, to look after his grandmother's spectacles, and he did not show any impatience when, after a long, tiresome search, they were discovered to have been all the time in their proper place, astride of the good old lady's nose; and he gave his brother Simon the first chance at flying his new kite when, as every boy knows, a new kite is worth twice as much as an old one.
"I won it! I won it fairly, and any boy will tell you so!" shouted Barty Cole, who, making a mistake in counting, stopped when he reached the fourth, instead of the fifth maple tree which was the goal.
"I don't think so!" returned Junius, in some heat. "You didn't touch the goal at all, and I'll leave it to any boy in school if that is fair winning."
Barty who was not quite an honorable boy, grew very red and angry.
"Do you mean to say I lie? I tell you I won in the race! I touched the fourth maple before you did, and if I hadn't blundered I should have been at the next tree long before you were there."
"Why, Barty Cole!" began Junius.
Then he stopped, for the name reminded him of its initials, also reminding him of his text. So he went on, in a different tone,
"Well, I s'pose you would, Barty. You always could beat me a running."
This good natured concession, so entirely unexpected, restored Barty's fair weather temper at once, and the two boys proceeded pleasantly to school.
"Skillful," said the teacher to the head boy in the spelling class.
Now Junius was the head boy but one, and it would of course be very gratifying to have the head boy miss. So, though it was neither courteous nor honest, Junius, as the boy hesitated, by the deaf and dumb alphabet, which was very fashionable in their school, twisted out the letters on his fingers, with only one middle l.
"S-k-i-l-f-u-l," spelled Carlos, who was looking directly at Junius' hand.
"Not right. The next," said the teacher.
So of course Junius went above him. But as he went, his conscience accused him, and he stepped quickly back again, raising his hand for permission to speak.
"Well, what is it, Junius?" asked the teacher.
"O, Miss Ford! I oughtn't to take my place, for Carlos might not have spelled wrong only I fooled him this way," he replied, twisting about his fingers again.
Miss Ford looked shocked at hearing of this deception, but she was so happy to find Junius ready to acknowledge his fault, and show himself so willing to make amends for it, that on the whole she was more glad than sorry.
But Carlos' eyes brightened, for he had so set his heart on wearing home the medal that night for his sick little sister to see! When Junius went home to dinner, he rushed in hungry and noisy, after the manner of schoolboys.
"Why can't children learn to be quiet in the house?" asked Aunt Joanna, who was inclined to fault-finding.
Junius vented the ill-humor which his aunt's words aroused, on Amy's black rag baby, which was monopolizing with its unpromising figure the shelf which belonged to his books. He threw it half across the room saying,
"There, you hateful old thing! See if you will get upon my shelf again!"
His mother picked up the offending doll.
"B. C. D., Black Cotton Doll," said she in a musing tone. "You don't learn abbreviations this term, do you, Juney?"
"Why, mother, you don't mean to say we ought to be polite to rag babies, do you?" burst out Junius.
"There is nothing said about excluding them in the command, is there?" asked Mrs. Ware.
"I suppose then, the next thing, you will say I ought to be courteous to the chairs and tables," exclaimed Junius.
"Certainly, I think so. If the chairs and tables do not suffer when treated impolitely, the person who treats them so, does. We can't do anybody or anything a wrong without injuring ourselves in the same degree."
Junius was too astounded and absorbed in thought to speak, but he peeled his potato and broke his bread at the dinner table with as much careful consideration as though they had nerves, and were capable of sensation.
When the children went home from school that night, Johnny McGee persisted in walking in the middle of the dusty road, and scuffing along with his bare feet in such a way that he raised a thick cloud of dust, which fell upon the white pantalets and aprons of the girls.
"Don't do so, Johnny!" said they.
But Johnny only scuffed the more.
"Here you Johnny McGee! stop that!" shouted Junius, who had fallen behind, at the head of the lane, to finish a marble and knife trade with Enos Trape.
The cloud which enveloped Johnny grew denser at this resolute command.
Without any more words, Junius seized him by the collar, and pulling him out of the road, with a decided shake, threw him upon the grass.
Johnny was up like a flash, and spit full in Junius' face, like a little Irish wildfire as he was.
Instead of resenting this indignity, Junius, suddenly remembering his text, stopped, and quietly wiping his face, said, "Excuse me for being so rough, Johnny. If you were impolite, it was no reason why I should be."
Johnny's mouth fell open in sheer astonishment, and his quick Irish nature feeling another impulse, he stood an instant, sheepishly gazing at the children, then started on a fast run, and was over the hills out of sight.
As he disappeared at the brow of the hill, Jim Coney, a negro idiot appeared in his place, coming toward the children. He had decked his ragged straw hat with some rooster feathers, tied a strip of bright calico about his waist, and with a mullein stalk for a cane, was strutting along, acting the dandy to the best of his foolish ability.
The children set up a shout of laughter when they saw him, in which Junius was at first disposed to join, but recollecting his text, he said to himself, "If we ought to be courteous to rag babies, we certainly ought to black Jim."
At that instant poor idiot Jim stepped on a rolling stone, and slipping, fell headlong.
Like a frightened baby, he begun to cry loudly.
"Aha Jim! Pride must have a fall! Hear him blubber!" shouted the children.
But Junius ran and helped him up, brushing the dirt from his clothes, and trying to comfort him.
His example made Susan Ells open her dinner basket, and give him a piece of ginger-bread which was left over from her luncheon.
Idiot Jim was delighted out of his fright and tears by the sight of it, and the children were happier.
Thus one little act of courtesy called out another, and so it will always be, for on other people, as well as on ourselves, everything we do has its influence.
Junius found it so. Because he tried to treat others politely, they were much more likely to treat him so.
And because the Spirit which helpeth our infirmities helped his earnest endeavors to be courteous in his heart, it grew continually easier for him to be always courteous in action.
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