driving, and in social pleasures. We have put the club and the bank first, and my son has disgraced me with his shameless marriage, and my daughter is dead. I tell you," he said, using his friend's name, "there is only one place in which to bring up a family, and that is the Christian Church. There is only one way to use Sunday for children, and that is to take them to church. What with money, and wine, and poker, and pleasure, all day Sunday, and parties all Sunday night, my family has been ruined. People don't know what the result of this kind of living will be until the end comes, but I know."—N. D. Hillis.
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CHURCH, JOINING THE
A physician meeting an evangelist said to him:
"I believe in religion as much as you do,
and I accept Christ as my Savior, but I will
never join any church."
"Doctor, you are pension examiner." "Yes." "How many applicants for pensions have you examined?" "I do not know, but hundreds." "Doctor, how many of these received a pension who had never joined the army?" "Not one, not one. My wife and I will unite with the Presbyterian Church."
They did. This man, seventy odd years old, who had never been at church once, became a devout Christian and died in the faith. (Text.)
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CHURCH, LIGHT AND STRENGTH
Persia has well been called the land of
"the Lion and the Sun." The symbol of
"the Lion and the Sun" originated in the
days when the Zoroastrians were the inhabitants
of the land. The sun, being the
emblem of the fire-worshipers, was taken as
their national badge. The lion was added
later because Ali, the grandson of Mohammed,
was called the "Lion of God." The
woman's face in the sun was inserted some
years later by one of the Persian kings as a
tribute to his favorite wife.
What is the Church but the land of
the Lion and the Sun, the Lion of Judah;
the Sun of righteousness? What
is its content but the bride of Christ?
(437)
Church, Loyalty to—See Loyalty to the Church.
CHURCH-MEMBERS, WORKING
Henry Ward Beecher was once about to
take a ride behind a horse which he had
hired from a livery stable. He regarded the
horse admiringly, and remarked: "That is
a fine-looking animal. Is he as good as he
looks?" The owner replied: "Mr. Beecher,
that horse will work in any place you put
him, and do all that any horse can do." The
preacher eyed the horse still more admiringly,
and then remarked: "I wish to goodness
he was a member of my church!" (Text.)—Louis
Albert Banks.
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CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP
It is not enough to say that you can be a
Christian outside of the Church; an occasional
boy can be a scholar without going
to school; an occasional vine can grow in a
lane instead of a vineyard, and an occasional
newsboy can sleep in a barrel, and survive,
instead of a home. But don't stand outside
of the Church and then crawl out of your
barrel, and later on ask for all the privileges
of the household. Some men watched the
great parade in 1865, and regretted that they
had not been in the ranks for the grand review.
And if you come to the end of your
career, never having shown your colors nor
had a part in the fight, you will never cease
to feel the regret that you did not die on
the battle-field, and were not carried home
like the heroes upon their shield.—N. D.
Hillis.
(439)
CHURCH, MISSION OF
In a sermon by Dr. James I. Vance in The Christian Observer, on "The Harbor-light on the Church Spire," he points out the mission of the Church. He gives this as an illustration:
Recently, while on a visit to the old historic,
picturesque city of Charleston, on a
Saturday afternoon, I was taken for a sail
around the harbor and a short distance out
to sea. A friend took me to the forward
deck and pointing to a light that glowed
above the city in the distance, said: "That
light is in the spire of St. Philip's church.
It is the harbor-light of Charleston. The
channel here is an eddy channel, deep but
narrow, and every vessel that enters this
harbor must steer by the light in St. Philip's
spire."
As I stood there in the deepening shadows,
