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THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV, G. H. EGGLESTON.
Theme: Unconditional Service.
Brooklyn, N. Y.—The Rev, Gordon
If. Eggleston, pastor of the Greene
Avenue Church, preached Sunday
morning on "Unconditional Service.”
The text was from Luke 10:60: “Let
the dead bury their dead; but go thou
and preach the Kingdom of God.”
Mr. Eggleston said:
We turn onr thought to a verse of
Scripture that leaves in many Chris¬
tian minds a wrong impression, or
seems to he entirely meaningless:
Let the dead bury their dead; but
go thou and preach the Kingdom of
God." As we think of these words we
must beware of of reading into Chris¬
tianity an unnaturalncss that savors
not of a loving God "full of compas¬
sion—and plenteous in mercy.” The
Christian religion, of which Jesus is
the personification, does not repudi¬
ate one single human emotion, Its
demands are not thus harsh. It. does
not demand the renunciation of home
life and human relations in order to
be pure and good, as the monks and
nuns of old asserted. Not in clois¬
tered hall, holiest secluded from curious eyes,
is the life lived, but out in the
busy world, bearing a share of its
burdens, meeting its temptations, yet
withal living a life that is pure and
good. The nun in her seclusion and
much prayer is not more righteous
Ilian the Christian housewife with her
many duties and less prayer. Nor is
the Christian business man living a
less noble life than the cloistered
monk. Christianity is not for seclu¬
sion. It is for the every day life
which you and I are Jiving. It is to
lift, common life into the divine. It.
does not ask t*is“to oe unnatural^ }t
does not deny us any legitimate 'rela¬
tionship. It does not require neg¬
lect of any earthly duty, for the Gos¬
pel of Jesus is a religion for this life.
Some would make the text mean
simply that we must not entangle
ourselves with the affairs of the
world. This is likely to misrepresent
the Gospel of Jesus. The true Chris¬
tian has a duty in this world, nor is
he to be separated from it. He has
a part in the work of redemption. Ills
the obligation so to enter into the
varied phases of life that ho may help
to lift it to higher ideals. Business,
politics, professional life, should not
be unrelated to Christian principles.
Each needs more men to carry Chris¬
tian principles into those departments
of life for their purification. When
men shall have grasped the idea that
every part of their life is related in¬
separably to their religion, and that
the man who is a Christian only when
he is inside a church is not a Chris¬
tian at all, then will a mighty stride
be made toward the realization of the
Kingdom of God in the hearts and
lives of men.
If it is true the words do not mean
the repudiation of natural affection,
If it is true they do not mean separa¬
tion from the world in order to be a
Christian, what, then, is the message
of these words from the lips of Jesus?
Two words suffice to state tl^o propo¬
sition. Unconditional service. "Let
the dead bury their dead" voices the
urgent demand ol’ the message of
Jesus on the soul of men.
The occasion for the seemingly
strange words of Jesus was a season
of excuses. He had been talking to
llis followers concerning the kingdom
of righteousness. Attracted by His
personality, many gather to hear His
words. To them Jesus said, “Follow
Me.” But they begin with one accord
to make excuse. They would like to
follow Jesus, but they are not willing
to pay the price. Unconditional with ser¬
vice. Their loyalty is tempered
conditions. Jesus says, follow Me
now, this instant, ere I depart. But
one young man feels he must first say
goodby to bis friends. While he is
gone to his native village to say good
by Jesus would have left the country.
It would be too late to follow. His
goodby would have cost him his fel¬
lowship with the Master. Therefore,
Jesus said to him, "No man having
put his hand to the plow and looking
hack is fit for the Kingdom of God.
We cannot believe Jesus had any ob¬
jection to the young man’s goodby to
his friends, if at the same time he
could have followed. Another young
man must needs first go bury his
father. But Jesus said to him, “Let
tho dead bury their dead; go thou
and preach the Kingdom of God. •»
The performance of these duties,
which were perfectly worthy in them¬
selves, would have separated them
from Jesus. Then when they were
ready to follow, Jesus would have
been far away. Participation in the
funeral rites would, according to the
Eastern custom, entail a ceremonial
unclean ness of seven days. Seven
days it would have taken to bury the
father. Before the funeral is over
Jesus would have been far away, and
the young man might then be unwill¬
ing to follow after Him.
By this stange answer, laden with
spiritual meaning, Jesus taught that
young man, and is teaching this age,
that His claims are paramount; that
obedience must be instant and abso¬
lute. It may be the path to hell is
paved with good intentions; but of
one thing we may be sure, the way
into the Christ life is not paved with
excuses. He who would be a follower
of that Perfect Man, the Sou of God,
must render unconditional service.
The same tree does not bear the true
and the false, the honest and the dis¬
honest, the pure and the impure.
The way of righteousness and the
way of evil are two roads which lead
to opposite conditions. Would man
walk in the way of truth, he must
even be willing to let the spiritually
dead bury their uead. If the dearest
friend a man has in the world would
keep him from righteousness and
Christ, then it must needs be as Jesus
said that a man must disregard the
desires even of his father and his
mother. How often in Mfe we see the
counterpart of the sad story of the
young woman who would follow her
Master in a life of service for the suf¬
fering, but who met with bitter op¬
position from a godless mother who
desired nothing better for the daugh¬
ter than the useless life of a society
belle. She was forced with sorrow to
forsake the mother, to leave the par¬
ental roof, to let the dead bury their
dead, while she did the work of the
Kingdom of Love. The call of Jesus
Christ to serve is unqualified. Ex¬
cuses do not pass muster. Whatso¬
ever hinders service must be re¬
nounced, if men would follow. Nor is
this a harsh demand. It does not re¬
quire that we be unnatural. It does
not ask the man to be less a man, or
the woman to be less a woman.
But, on the other hand, no earthly
duty or relationship can be pawned
as an excuse for neglect of duty to
God, righteousness and the cause of
humanity. Forgetful that excuse
should have no place in Christian liv¬
ing, many a one to-day who has
heard the call of the Master, “Follow
Me,” like the young man of old, has
bribed the conscience with excuses.
Many of the current excuses are far
less plausible than those of the men
who would first say goodby to the
friends and bury the father. Back of
every life to-day that is not Christian,
that is not living for righteousness,
there is a reason, perhaps an excuse,
certainly that stands in the way of
following Jesus, which cross-examina¬
tion would reveal. It may be indif¬
ference. Indifference to the moral
and spiritual claims of Jesus Christ
upon the life is not commendable. It
may be some pet sin hidden away
from the knowledge of the world
within the secret places of heart and
life. To offer the love of a pet sin
as the reason for not following the
Master is a sad confession of weak¬
ness. We recall the words, “If thy
right hand offend thee cut it off and
cast it from thee. II
The excuse ma^ be that men think
themselves not. good enough. But the
purpose of Christianity is to make
men good; not to take them after
they are good. It may be cowardly
fear of criticism stands in the way.
But the true man does not fear criti¬
cism when doing the right.
“Go thou and publish abroad the
Kingdom of God” was the message to
the young man who excused himself.
It tells the nature of the service.
That service is essentially and pri
marily personal. The first require¬
ment is, “Follow Me.” That means
to believe in Jesus as a personal Sav¬
iour from sin. It means to live the
principles of the Christ life in our
daily life.
Whatever hinders the tangible ex¬
pression of that Gospel we profess
must be cast out. Is there a secret
sin? It must go. Is there a trick in
business that does not square with
honesty? It must go. Is there a pet
jealousy or envy that does not weigh
well in the scales of love? It must
go Is there even a desire in the
heart that is not pure and true? It
must go. The outward appearance
judges not the man, but the motives
and desires of the heart, they are the
judge. Time was when a man was
deemed good if he committed no
overt act of wrong. It, mattered little
what ho thought, or what the lusts of
the heart might be, so long as he did
no wrong. But the searching truth of
Jesus reversed these values. Not an
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a
tooth, but render thou good for evil.
•i If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it
out and cast it from thee; for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy
members should perish, and not that
thy whole body should he cast into
hell.” Nor is this strenuous ideal
enough. It is not sufficient that the
actions of the life conform to the laws
of morality and righteousness. Listen
to the words of Jesus in which He
states the great ideal: "Ye have
heard how it was said by them of old,
thou shalt not kill; but I say unto
you that whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment. Ye have
heard that it was said by them of old.
thou shalt not commit adultery. But
I say that whosoever desireth thus to
sin hath already done the sin in his
heart. It. is the noblest ideal that
has ever been given to man. It de
mands the purification of the motives
and desires of the heart, as well as the
actions of the life; for from the heart
proceedeth all sin. It strikes at the
very centre of wrongdoing. Thus is
service to Christ made first of all a
matter to the heart. The heart must
be right. Then, it becomes a matter
of the life. The life will be righteous
if the heart is right. Follow Me, said
Jesus. Get the heart and life in har¬
mony with noble ideals. Then, "Go
thou and preach the Kingdom of
God. ■*
Thus jv-sus transfers the nature of
service from tb*> mrrow limits of the
personal into the great world-wide
field of the social. The ultimate ob¬
ject becomes not one’s own individual
salvation, but the Kingdom of God,
which is also the brotherhood of man.
Jesus did not say to the young man.
Let the dead bury their dead, but go
thou and save thine cwn soul. But
He did say, Go thou and save others
into life, publish the message of love.
In that work for others in the name
of God, he would save himself. There
is no other way. He who seeketh to
save his life shall lose it; but he who
sacrifices his life for My sake, the
same shall save it. The which is to
say a man cannot save his own soul
without seeking to save the life of a
brother at the same time; a man can¬
not be a Christian and care nothing
for the redemption of the world into
the Christ-like life of lignt and love
Watchmakers’ oil is from the jaw¬
bone of the porpoise.
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GERANIUMS.
Geraniums bloom most satisfac¬
torily when grown in comparatively
small pots and soil which is termed
rich, hut is not rank with excessive
manure.—Florist.
RENEWING OLD PEACH TREES.
The peach tree is a rapid grower
under ordinarily favorable conditions.
It bears fruit only on wood of the
previous season’s growth. But even
with careful annual pruning the
peach tree will eventually get out of
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Tree After Cutting Back.
proportion and out of reasonable
bounds. It is at this time that a
complete renewal becomes advisable.
This can be accomplised without the
loss of a crop, providing the work be
done early in the spring of a season
in which the fruit buds have been de¬
stroyed by the rigors of winter, as
is often the case in all sections of
Ohio other than those bordering on
1 Lake Erie, Where annual crops are
the rule the fortunate orchardist may
cut back of a few of the branches
of each tree each season, thereby
keeping an adequate supply of new
fruiting wood coming on, low down
where pruning and spraying may be
easily done and where the crop may
be safely supported by the superior
strength of the short, sturdy, well
knit branches. Thus gradually the
trees will become renewed, there will
be no material loss in fruit produc¬
tion and the fruit will be of larger
size because of the decreased number
of specimens to be developed.—
Weekly Witness.
SPRAYING IS ESSENTIAL.
Spraying is now recognized as an
essential in profitable fruit growing,
says Drovers’ Journal. But to be
successful it must be done at the right
time and in the right way. There are
many different kinds of insects and
plant diseases which attack fruit
trees, consequently there are a great
many kinds of spraying solutions,
each with its own peculiar use and
time of application. It may be con¬
fusing to the beginner to understand
each of these sprays, but the experi¬
ment stations in each State have pub¬
lished what is called a spraying cal¬
endar, which it will be advisable for
every farmer and orchard owner to
send and get. This calendar tells
how to make each of the spraying so¬
lutions, for what particular insect
they are best adapted and when to
use for the best results. Each experi¬
ment station sends out these bulletins
free of charge to farmers of the State
in which they are located.
FLOWERS FROM FROST TO FROST
March—Crocuses.
April—English daisies, forget-me
nots, narcissi.
May—Iris, lily of the valley, china
pinks, violets, wisteria and bleeding
heart.
June—Bellflowers, perennial core¬
opsis, larkspur, foxgloves, phlox,
hardy perpetual roses and sweet wil¬
liams.
July—Clematis, day lillies, golden
glow, hollyhocks and lillies.
August—Phlcx.
September — Chrysanthemums.—
Home and Farm.
PLANS FOR THE GARDEN.
I find the best way to lay out the
garden is to have the rows as long and
straight as possible. This saves lots
of time in cultivation. We see many
gardens laid out in small square beds
with walks all around them. This is
all needless labor to prepare them,
and then it takes much more work to
keep them clean.
If the rows run straight across the
garden one can run the wheel hoe
through so quickly and easily that it I
weeds becomes down, a real and pleasure it to keep that the j
pays any one
has a garden to have a wheel hoe.— ;
J. A. Saunders, in the American CuJ
U?ator. j
*■ ANTHOINES’ MACHINE WORKS *
We have put in the latest
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A 1 ■ m Turning & Block Machine
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if and round, are square fitted up and to octagon ge't out
■ ■ t * Balusters, Porch Spindles,
m •V Base and Corner Blocks.
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*1 y v a»: %$. We also have first-class
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Wood Lathe for all kinds of
■Iv hand turning.
We are prepared to get out all
kinds of Dressed Lumber for
buildings. Rough and Dress¬
m ed Lumber, Flooring, Ceiling
and Shingles on hand at all
times.
) r Don’t forget that we are still in
i’SL ‘t
» the Repair Business of Engines,
' V. Boilers and other Machinery.
ANTHOINES MACHINE WORKS,
Fort Valley, Ga.
M &
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I.T T
VP. ww LIVERYMAN.
Hi
When in need of a good buggy or carriage
with safe horses and polite drivers, phone 95.
GKURGH STREET, NEAR STATION.
v. 7MB J
Southern Railway
Interchangeable i,ooo Mile Individual Exchange
Orders, $20.oo:=Good over entire Southern Railway
System and 33 other carriers.
Interchangeable 2,000 Mile Firm Exchange Orders,
$4b oo:=Good over entire Southern Railway System
and 27 other carriers; for the separate journey of not
more than 5 persons, members or employes of a firm
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General Interchangeable t,qqo Mile Exchange Or¬
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entire Southern Railway System and many other
roads South of the Ohio and potomac and East of the
Mississippi Rivers.
Georgia, Family 500 Mile Exchange Orders, $13.25:
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Southern Railway: for use of the heads of families
and dependent members thereof.
For full particulars, ask any Southern Railway
Agent, or Write to
G. R. PETTIT,
Trav. Pass. Agt.
Macon, Ga;
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We have recently purchased the Harris Manufacturing
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exclusive attention to the builders supply busines in the
future.
Our very complete stock includes
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kind that don’t crack open—several grades; Doors—
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