THE KING’ S BUSINESS
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before God it is 'wrong. W e are rob bing ourselves anil grieving God. God does not want things. He wants our own selves and our affection. What did Christ say was the second com mandment? Loving God warms our hearts and takes in our neighbor too. No one would injure herself, lie about or steal from herself, or covet her own success. Put yourself in your neighbor’s place and treat her as you treat yourself. Two girls kept candy stores in opposite ends o f their town. One girl noticed her receipts greatly increased one week. She learned that the other girl was ill and was forced to close her shop. The girl took all that she had made above her aver age and gave it to the kick girl. Did the young man agree with Christ? H e' did with his intellect but his heart was unmoved. Right feelings and pur poses are useless unless accompanied by action. Wanting to be a pianist will never make you one. Desire must be expressed in painstaking practice. The young man believed but did not receive. He was at the door but did not enter. What did Christ say o f him? It does not matter whether you are a minute or an hour late for your train you have missed it. So did the young man. As people came and left their gifts in the temple Christ saw love illustrated. The scribes loved to make a show o f their piety and giving. The world still applauds conspicuous giving. With God, giving is attitude o f the heart, not the amount in coin. God estimates money not by the amount given but by the amount left. This widow did not merely give a tenth, she gave all. She perhaps was ashamed o f the smallness o f her gifts, but God was pleased. No expression o f love is ever too small to be overlooked by Christ. Sophia, the washwoman o f New York, keeps several missionaries in China and Africa. Love is seen only in action. Love that is not in action is worthless.
them but they came only to corner Him. No matter with what question they tried to confuse or entrap Christ He always silenced them. This young lawyer listened in amaze ment to Christ’s answers.! What question did he ask? The Jewish law was divided into 613 precepts. The scribes were con stantly wrangling as to which was great est. Where in the Bible will you' find Christ’s answer? What girl can help loving her father and mother when she considers how they have loved and cared for her when she was tiny and helpless, and how they strug gle and work to give her comforts, oppor tunities and pleasure. Yet what is their love compared with the love God has lav ished upon us? All that we eat is given us by G od: fruits, vegetables, meat, etc.; what we wear—silk, cotton, wool, leather and jewels; our homes and all their con tents: lumber, stone, brick, furniture, rugs, etc. W e may alter and adapt these raw materials but we cannot bring one o f them into 'existence. How long would we live without water and sunshine? Suppose some night when w e'g o to sleep God too should sleep and forget to give us air to breathe and forget to hold the planets in their places. Our wonderful God who watches over us slumbers not nor sleeps. What is love? You love your chum. You spend every moment with her that you can. You delight in her letters when she is absent. You live to please her. You try to be the girl she thinks you capable o f being. Nothing that you ever do for her is a sacrifice. I f you love God you will show it in similar ways. While God delights in the mountain, sea and' all else that He has created;, yet you are the supreme object o f His affection. The lover is d.evoted to his sweetheart and lavishes all upon her. Suppose, she put music, books, pleasure, before him. Would he not be hurt? No matter how good things may be if we are putting anything first
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