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Surprises are said to be the sparkle
of existence. If that be true I ought
to bring a fancy price in the “sparkle
market.” Thursday morning, as I sat
in the office poring over a pile of busi
ness mail, a Western Union boy bounc
ed in with a message. It read in part:
“Brilliant idea is about to split my
noggin. Impossible to get train out of
Jacksonville in time to reach Atlanta
Friday night. Meet me in Brunswick
Friday morning. Have written our
Chum we are coming.” Well, it simply
took my breath away. But I went to
work with redoubled zeal, got enough
copy together to keep the printer
busy, put the office work in ship
shape and caught the southbound
Southern train at 11:10 G. N. (Good
Night).
Friday morning I rushed out of the
sleeper as soon as the train pulled un
der the shed, and there stood my loy
al, smiling Chum waiting to receive
me with open arms.
After breakfast we went around re
newing acquaintances with the many
friends whom I had learned to admire
and love during my four years’ resi
dence in the city of Sydney Lanier’s
dreams.
But the best of all the day was a
delightful boat ride over to St. Simon’s
Island. Even the editor grew poetic
over the beauties of sea and sunset
sky, but none of his rhapsodies were
preserved for posterity, mainly be
cause they overflowed so rapidly and
voluminously we couldn’t catch them.
The sunshine of another day finds
us back in the office “doing business
at the same old stand,” but the mem
ory of yesterday makes the pulse beat
high and the heart glad. Good health
and warm-hearted friends are, after
all, man’s richest heritage on earth.
THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS.
October 9, 1910.
Matt. 25:14-30.
Time —A. D. 30.
Place —Mount of Olives.
GOLDEN TEXT —“His lord said un
to him, Well done, thou good and faith
ful servant; thou hast been faithful
over a few things; I will make thee
ruler over many things; enter thou in
to the joy of thy lord.” Matt. 25:21.
SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS.
What should I do?
I. Be a Faithful Servant. Vs. 14-30.
In the parable of the virgins the
failure to be ready for the Lord’s re
turn was in the inward life. In this
parable the failure is the neglect to
use the powers, gifts and opportunities
that God has given. To be a faithful
servant there are some things taught
by this parable that we must learn.
First. That ye are not your own.
V. 14.
We are God’s servants. We are not
our own, but are bought with a price.
God bought us, and "we are His. (1
C0r.6:19, 20.) The Lord Jesus is the
“man going into another country”, and
has entrusted His goods to us.
Second. That all our powers, gifts,
and opportunities are God-given. Vs.
14, 15.
He delivered to His own servants
His goods. The servants are His and
the goods are His. When He ascended
up to Heaven He gave gifts unto men.
(Eph. 4:8, 11, 12; 1 Peter 440.) As
PINEY WOODS SKETCHES
JZ7A DA Y SCHOOL LESSON
By B. Lacy Hoge.
Margaret ‘Beberly Upshalv.
THE PIG THAT PERSISTED.
A colony up in Alberta consisted of
a hundred or more young Englishmen
who knew a good deal about bridge
and golf, but nothing whatever about
farming. One of them had a pig. The
animal was systematically overfed
and grew to be so fat that it couldn’t
walk. But nobody in the colony knew
how to slaughter it.
Soon after Dan Mann’s Canadian
Northern reached the colony the train
hands got to know about the pig, and
fell into the habit of making daily in
quiries. One evening, after the ex
press had pulled in, the brakeman -said
to the owner of the porker:
“How’s that pig?”
“You will not have to awsk about it
any more,” was the reply. “We got
the cawpenter to cut a hole in its neck
with a chisel this morning. It has
bled a good deal all day and ought to
be dead tonight. Tomorrow we will
skin it.”
*
WAITING FOR THE CENT.
A teacher in the primary grade in
one of the down town schools worked
valiantly but to no avail with the most
backward pupil, says the Philadelphia
Times. The child seemed incapable of
individual thinking. He was not able
even to write from copy in his copy
book. The best he could do was to
“trace” the copy through a piece of tis
sue paper and then write through it on
the copy book again, which he did with
regularity.
The teacher tried in vain to break
him of the habit, but it was easier for
the child to “trace” his exercise than to
copy it. Shortly after Dr. Martin G.
Brumbaugh had been made superin
tendent of schools, he dropped into this
we are His, and all we have are gifts
from Him, we must use them for our
Lord.
11. Trade With Your Talents. Vs.
15-17, 19-23.
These talents represent the gifts of
the Spirit. (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:4,
8-11; 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:8-11.) He
gave to each one according to their
ability. God has given to each of us
just what we can use —no more, no
less. We should not complain of
what we have received, but go to work
and make good use of what has been
given us. God gave us talents for us
to use for Him, and we increase them
by using them in the work of the
Lord. Laboring for Christ is the way
to trade with the talents. (1 Cor.
14:12; 2 Cor. 1:4-6; 1 Cor. 15:10; 1
Tim. 6:17, 18; 2 Peter 1:5-11.) The
greater the gift the greater the re
sponsibility. (Luke 12:48.) The man
that received five talents must gain
five more to be equal with the man of
two talents, who gained two more.
The man with the two talents did as
well with his two as the man with
five did with his; therefore they both
received the same reward. Paul tells
us that God has the same reward for
us that he received. (2 Tim. 4:7, 8.)
If we fight the battle God gives us to
fight and, finish the work He gives us
to do, and are faithful in the place He
has put us, we will receive a reward
equal to Paul’s, even though he fought
a greater battle and did a greater
work. If we do our best with what
we receive, we do all that God expects
pf us.
The Golden Age for September 29, 1910.
teacher’s room just as she was scold
ing the backward pupil for his. refusal
to copy his exercise. The superin
tendent asked what was the trouble.
“This boy just won’t try to copy his
exercise,” the teacher complained. “I
am sure he can if he tries, but he will
do nothing but trace his copy and I
cant’ make him do otherwise.”
She was almost ready to cry with
mortification. Dr. Brumbaugh thought
a minute, then took a penny from his
pocket.
“Do you know what this is,” he ask
ed the backward one. The boy’s dull
eyes lighted and he nodded his head.
“Well, if you copy your exercise be
tween now and the time I come back,”
said the superintendent, “I will give
this penny to you.”
Then he went out of the room and
by the time he had made the round of
the building his attention had been
drawn to other things, and he left
without returning to see what progress
the unpromising pupil was making.
As soon as Dr. Brumbaugh had left
the office the boy took up his “tracing”
.paper, made a new copy of the exer
cise, and then sat back waiting for the
superintendent, who did not come. An
hour passed, and finally he raised his
hand.
“What is it, William?” the teacher
asked.
“Miss Smith,” the boy replied slowly
but with conviction, “I’ll bet that suck
er shinned out with that cent.”
HE SAW THE GHOST.
Walker Hines, railroad authority and
expert on rapid transportation, tells a
story of an Irishman who traveled
with the greatest speed ever recorded.
The Irishman was down on his luck
111. Don’t Hide Your Talent. Vs.
18, 24-30.
The man with one talent went and
hid it, instead of using it. One-talent
people are tempted to follow the ex
ample of this man. Those of many
talents often hide them also. We are
warned not to neglect the gift we
have. (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6.) The
Lord did not condemn him for having
only one talent, or for doing some
great wrong, or for using his talent
in evil works, but he was condemned
for neglecting to use the gift God
gave him.
IV. Be Ready for the Lord’s Re
turn. Vs. 19:30.
The Lord Jesus is the one that went
into another country. He has been
gone a long time. At any moment He
may come back. It is certain that He
will come again. (John 14:2, 3; Acts
1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:16-18.) When He
returns He will make a reckoning
with us. (Matt. 16:27; 1 Cor. 4:5; 2
Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10-12.) The judg
ment at His coming will be for re
wards, and not as to whether we are .
saved or lost. (1 Cor. 3:13-15.) The
question of our salvation was settled
when, we believed and confessed Jesus
as Lord. (John 5:24; John 10:28, 29;
Rom. 10:9, 10.) The five-talent man
was ready for the Lord’s return, and
appeared with boldness and confidence.
He had made good use of his talents,
and therefore was not afraid to meet
his lord. We can so live as to have
no fear, but have confidence before
Him at His appearing. (1 John 2:28;
and needed a lodging place. After
asking the loan of a bed in several
houses in a small Western town, he
encountered a preacher, who told
him:
“There’s an unoccupied house down
the road a little way. You might
sleep there. But I am going to warn
you that the house is haunted.”
“No matter,” replied the Irishman;
I’m not afraid of ghosts.”
Soon after dark the preacher dropp
ed in to see how Pat was progressing.
He found him in charge of the house,
but a trifle nervous. After chatting
awhile he bade him a cheerful good
night.
Three days later he saw coming
down the road the weary and dusty
figure of the former tenant of the
spook-ridden house.
“Where have you been?” he inquir
ed, “and what have you been doing
since I saw you last?”
“All that time,” replied the Irish
man, I’ve been coming back.”
I?
UNCLE EPHE ON WATERMELONS.
Bright an’ early ebery mornin’ I pulls
er watermillion
An’ lays it in de shade ’twell de mid
dle o’ de day;
Den, when I cuts it open an’ see dem
black seed shinin’,
I feels like shoutin’ “Glory, halle
luyar” an’ “hurray!”
When I takes de bigges’ ha’f an’ sets
down on de do’ step,
An’ de lil’ pickaninnies crowd erbout
me wider grin,
I feels deep in ma h’art dat Heaben’s
som’whar near me,
When I takes er great big moufful
an’ de juice draps frum ma chin.
—ADAM R. HOPPER.
1 John 4:16-18.) He received words of
praise from the Lord, was given great
er opportunities and his authority en
larged. (Luke 12:44; Luke 22:29;
Rev. 2:26; Rev. 3:21; Rev. 21:7; 2
Tim. 2:12.) The Lord gave him a still
greater reward when He said unto
him, “Enter thou into the joy of thy
lord.” This is the joy the Lord Him
self has. (Psalms 36:8.) Down here
we have a li.ttle of His joy in us; up
there we will enter into joy. The
two-talent man appeared before his
lord with the same confidence as the
man of five talents, and the lord
spoke the same words to him and gave
him the same reward, because he, too,
had made good use of the talents
given him. The one-talent man came
before his lord and tried to place the
blame for his failure upon his lord.
(Vs. 24, 25.) All those who neglect
their duty and are unfaithful to the
trust imposed upon them seek to lay
the blame for their neglect and failure
upon the Lord or upon some one
else. The lord called him a “wicked
and slothful servant”. Out of his own
mouth the lord condemned him. (Vs.
26, 27.) His talent was taken from
him and he himself cast into the outer
darkness. Neglect damned him, and
neglect will damn all who fail to use
the talents given them. The talent
taken from the “wicked and slothful
servant” was given to him who had
the ten talents. The Master teaches
us that he who uses his talents will
get more, and he who neglects to use
his talent will lose that which he now
has.
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