Fkbrijarv, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CITLTURE 



111 



keep them. If Satan mado just a littlo impression 

 the other time, he didn't a bit here, and with it came 

 the feeling:, " This money all belongs to the Master, 

 and not to myself." So long as he supplies me with all 

 I want and all I need, why should I covet anythiuK? 

 Oh, the unsearchable riches of those who have their 

 whole trust in tlie resources of Him who is Lord of 

 all I 



All at once one of the friends whom I had left at 

 the convention came into the ear where I sat. He 

 was on the way home, and was as much surprised 

 on secins me as I was on seeing' him. I did not 

 know how soon he would be called on to leave me, 

 and so I came, pretty sooo, squarely up to the 

 w^ork I felt the Master had given me to do. Said I, 

 almost abruptly, — 



" Friend , you are a Cliristian, I believe." 



He looked up at me with a smiling face and said : 

 " Mr. Root, just the very moment my eye fell on 

 you as I came into this car, I felt that I should be 

 called upon to meet this question. And now I want 

 to tell you that I ani glad that you have said just 

 these words to roe, even tho it be true that I am not 

 and never have been a member of any church. The 

 reasons why I have never united — ^that is, if they are 

 fit to be called reasons — are, that the church I had 

 thousrht I must unite with, if any, is not near at 

 hand. I have been helping in another church; and 

 my wife and T have been studying the Bible, and 

 have even gone so far aJ3 to have family prayers, but 

 we are not members of any body of Chi'istian people. 

 I have known my duty, but somehow I have longed 

 to have somebody assuxe me, as you do, in your 

 earnest way, that it was just what I ought to do." 

 The church he mentioned is a new one in a new 

 section of country, and it is doubtless weak and 

 very much in need of the energj', intelligence, and 

 spiritual strength which these two young tee- 

 friends can give it. Its influence for good on the 

 community round about will, without question, be 

 ever so much greater for having these two come 

 forward and take a bold stand, and let their faith 

 be shown by their works. As we parted he took 

 me by the hand and promised that, if his wife ap- 

 proved (and he felt sure she would), they would at 

 or.ce, before another S'unday, go to the pastor and 

 tell him of their determination and wish to become 

 members of the church. A strange feeling comes 

 over me when I think of his remark, that he expected 

 me to labor with him on this very question. If 

 such responsibilities are coming upon me, how great 

 is the need that I be pure in heart and honest in 

 deed! "Lord, help!" comes up. again and again; 

 and when I think of the little conflict — yes, perhaps 

 even fenble conflict — over that bright round dollar, 

 how earnestly can I pray that I may be cleansed, 

 both soul and body, from all temptations of Si like 

 nature, taking no thought for what we shall eat or 

 what we shall drink, nor yet for the body v hat we 

 shall put on ; for is it not true, that a life with 

 Jesus is incomparably more than meat or raiment, 

 or any thing else that the world can offer ? 



My good friends, I will now take the lib- 

 erty of telling you that the bsieke^piiis: 

 fiTend I had that talk with on the cars was 

 none othien- than George E. Hilton, who has 

 now gone to his reward. The result of the 

 promise he gave me was that he himself a''d 

 his wife united with that little chiiroh, and 

 eheeied up a poor discouraged minister. 

 Not only did lie unite, but a near relative 

 also, and his wife; and fri;ind Hilton wa.s 

 immediately appointed superintendent of 

 the Sunday-school, and became a iniosft 

 earnest and devoted Cihrisitian worker for 

 the rest of his life. Nobody will ever know 



the final outcome of the talk we had in just 

 on," little hour on that train. Let us now 

 go hack a little. 



Suppose I had given way to the tempta- 

 tion to keep that silviPir dollar. It makes 

 me tremble, even yet, to think how nearly 

 I had given way. The tr'ain was ready to 

 start, and I think the conductor had called 

 out, "All aboard!" But the congciqucnce 

 stood fairljr before me. I bad recently 

 stood up before the great wide world — that 

 is, so far as T could tliru that little journal ; 

 and if T had gone off just then witli that 

 dollar in my pocket, how oould I plead with 

 anybody for Christ Jesus? It could not 

 be done. " If I ehenlish inquity in my 

 heart, the Lord will not luear me." Had I 

 kept that one single silver dollar, I should 

 not have had the honest and innocent en- 

 thusiasm to hunt up and give to the world 

 that Grand Rapids lettuce. 



Now, if that experience is not something 

 almost miraculoiis, then it certainly is won- 

 derful that, for thp second time in 24 hours, 

 an expert ticket agent in the giieat city of 

 Grand Rapids should hand me two silver 

 dollars that did not belong to me. Pleas© 

 do not think I am boasting of what I did, 

 dear friends ; for " God forbid that I should 

 gloi^y save in the cross of Clirist." And in 

 the same manner I want to tell you that it 

 is not what A. I. Root did that I am now 

 writing about, but what the Holy Spirit 

 did thru me. I suggested, as you may liave 

 noticed, that God was trying me. In the 

 early days of my Christian work there were 

 some wonderful answers to prayer, as our 

 older readers will remember. They amount- 

 pld nearly if not quite to nairacles; and will 

 it be too great a stretch of the truth to sug- 

 gest that the Holy Spirit did actually plan 

 to have that Grand Rapids agent hand me 

 two dollars by mistake? Had I not been 

 ]TOSsie.ssed of a clear conscienoe, " void of 

 offense toward either God or man," how 

 could I have plead with friend Hilton as I 

 did that afternoon with money in my pocket 

 that was not hoiiiestly my oAvn? The thing 

 would have been impossible. 



Let me now hold up before you another 

 beautiful text that has been a shining light 

 to me thru all th? years of my ('kri^tian Ife 

 David said, in the anguish of his soul, after 

 his great crime, " Create in me a clean 

 heart, God, and reinew a right spirit 

 within me." A little furthstt- on he says 

 again, " Then will I teach transgressors thy 

 ways, and sinners shall be converted unto 

 thee." David liimsalf recognized tlije fact 

 that it was utterly impossible for him to 

 plead for forgiveness and righteousness so 

 long as he felt oppressed by a guilty eon- 

 sea en ce. After he had repented — yes. 



