Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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6 THE LUTHERAN VISITOR Janaary 23, 1902 PALM LI AYES. What U Repentance? As we are now approach ing the Lenten season, a little homily on this subject may serve a good purpose. Years ago, you know, Advent was observed by the church as a season for special fasting, prayer and penitence; and though we would not advo cate a return to that kind of preparation for the festivities to come, yet a little more serious meditation on the purpose of the Saviour’s coming into the world ought to change the popular thoughtless hilarity into a real spiritual joy for the divine gifts bestowed in the Emmanuel. What is the nature of repent ance? There is such a differ ence between sorrow for sin and sorrow for being caught and punished in sin. The one issipip- ly regret for being exposed, and fear of punishment; the other is sad contrition, regardless of what the punishment may be. Tears are not always the sign of sincere sorrow, they may not in every instance be the pure crys tals of a broken-hearted contri tion. The assassin may be sorry that he must pay the penalty for his dastardly crime, and yet he may be glad that he committed the deed; there you have regret without even a shadow of peni tence for an evil heart. We should never lose sight of this difference. Compunction is a transient st ing of the conscience, and may be forgotten after sun down. Penitence may also bo momentary, excited by some external pressure, and may not be followed by a change of char acter. Regret may be distress of mind, merely for unavoidable consequences, and not for the evil deed itself, not for the base sinfulness of the heart that prompted the deed. There may be sorrow without repentance, but there never was repentance without real heart-felt sorrow. Repentance is lasting; it means self-condemnation, with the ef fort to turn 'Wholly away from the life of sin. These two, then, are real and true; repen^pnce and contrition are sincere sor row for sin, for wrong doing or offense, especially as arising from a sense of the baseness of sin, and a sense of God’s loving mercy and grace. This is what God accepts always and every where. The other emotions are transitory, Jbroken shoots with out promise; this is the living stalk, that will yield fruit in character unto eternity. HOW JESUS COMFORTED. You can explain the full mean ing of his tears, when “Jesus wept.” They were, however, tokens of his divine sympathy. And yet he could have prevented the sorrow in the circle of his dear friends at Bethany had such been his will. Some said, “Could not he which opened the eyes of the blind have caused that Lazarus should not have died?” Instead of delaying four days, he could have come ear lier in>d saved Lazarus from his sicki i ss. But he knew what he would do; how the greater glory of God should afterward be made manifest." To the sisters it was all inexplicable. They knew his sincere love to them and their brother, - yet in the hour of dire need he was absent, and Mary could only say, “Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died.” And “Jesus wept.” Not because Lazarus had died, but because these dear friends could not understand. To him all was light. He had tried to teach them by his word and life, and yet these children of the morning ( uld not receive it, and what i.i »re could he say to them, gropi g in the darkness, than “I am Uie resurrection and the life.” Why the good and fruitful trees are usually the first to fall when the storm blows through the valley, while the useless rubbish escapes unhurt, wejieed not try to understaud. Why there should be suffering in the lives of those who have almost walked as saints, we can ex plain no more than why Christ had to suffer. He was made perfect through trial. Suffering is part of God’s moral govern ment. Burdens and crosses are not so many misfortunes, but the means in God’s hand to pre pare those destined for his king dom. How long the night of endurance always seems, but the day that follows will be eternal. “If thou wilt believe, thou shall see the glory of God.” The sisters of Bethany saw the divine glory in the resurrection of Laz arus; and then, they may have thought that every fear was stilled, every hope fulfilled. But a few days afterward even that was as nothing, compared with the greater manifestation of power when they saw Christ risen from the.dead. This is the gloryjseen .by faith^only which we may see today. Millions lived after that first Easter day; to whom thelliving Christ was as ^ if be.still ,lay,in..the., tomb. All that faith'saw.then ;we may see, and glorify God. The ,good,;we see in sanctified lives, the faith that bears every cross willingly, because accepted^from the Fath er’s t hand,*theJ hope that looks beyondjthe] grave in [visions of surpassing splendor; are not these",the inspiration,', the gifts, the glory of the same Christ crucified, risen,[ascended? A Christian life of positive piety cannot help exerting an influence upon others, .and.how that influence shall be unfolded in years to come, unto divine glory, in hearts peculiarly touched, only he can tell who sees the harvest in the seed. We cannot know, but God knows, how lives are thus controlled, how movements are started whose last billows will" break upon eternity’s shore, how im pulses good ward and God ward are imparted by the eimple’testi- raony which comes from the hriii. “If thou wilt believe thou shall see.” What comfort there is in this truih as we meditate on it, as we become grateful for the privilege of working with God, as We resolve to be better followers of the divine Master.— Christian World. NOT IN NEED OF A HUSBAND A young woman who is very popular in social life was asked why she did not marry. Her answer will furnish young fel lows who are forming habits something to think about. Here it is: “I have considerable money of my own; I have a parrot that swears, a monkey that chews and a stove that smokes; so you see I am not very badly in need of a husband.” Building and Testing. When the great Brooklyn bridge was being built every strand of wire was tested. If it had not been some time or other that bridge would have come down, for bad wire would have been in it." The strands were tested one by one. Thank God, if the storm has come into your life, and some of the single strands that you are putting into your life have broken, it is better to find it out now than to find it by and by. HALF-POSSESSION AN IMPROB ABLE WINNER. A great many people go through life without ever getting full possession of themselves. They do not seem able to grasp their possibilities, they do not develop the faculty of flinging their lives out with force and ef fectiveness, along the lines of their bent. They can use some of their faculties to advantage, can <lo soma things fairly well, but never apparently come to a full knowledge of their strength. You feel that there are vast undiscovered continents within them,—that they do not know themselves. You are impressed with the idea that they have made only a small clearing, as it were, on which they have erect ed a hut and planted a garden, but that they are totally ignor ant of the great expanse of coun try about them.—Success. SAY IT NOW. A dear mother lay dying, and her oldest son, as he knelt by her bedside, cried: “Youhave been a good mother to us.” The dying woman opened her eyes, and, with a feeble smile, whispered, “You never said so before, John;” and she was gone. If we have kind words to speak, let us speak them now while our loved ones are yet with us. If we have loving deeds to do, let them be done to day. Flowers on coffin lids and epitaphs on tombstone bring no cheer to the living. A MAMMOTH EGO. The largest egg in the world has lately been brought to Lon don, having been found by some natives of Madagascar, buried in the sand of the island. A long time ago—some men of science say it was over a thousand years—a species of huge birds was found on the island of Mad agascar. These birds have long been extinct, but their enormous eggs are occasionally found bur ied where the mother bird has placed them for hatching, just as the ostrich does at this day. That the bird was a very large one is shown from the fact that this egg measures a yard around it and is equal in bulk to twelve dozen hens’ eggs. Put a little cheer into some heart each day.