64 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



as human, as well as to accept him as the 

 Son of God. Our pastor made a remark to a 

 young lady at the teachers' meeting, some- 

 thing like this: ''My friend, whatever you 

 remember about Jesus, above all things re- 

 member that he was human;-' and 1 have 

 often thought of it. It ife almost as bad a 

 piece of skepticism to say that Jesus was not 

 a human being, as to say that he was not the 

 Son of God. lie had our trials, aud bore up 

 under them. He fought against temptations 

 and weaknesses, and hunger and fatigue, 

 and he fought so successfully that <jiod was 

 pleased with him. I have often dwelt on 

 those words that came from heaven. " This 

 is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleas- 

 ed." Now. God could not have been pleased 

 with one who had not earned his approval, 

 and, following out the same line of thought, 

 Jesus deliberately chose to do the will of 

 God. He was an obedient child; in other 

 words, he could truthfully say, "My meat is 

 to do the will of him that sent me." Not 

 because it was always easier or pleasanter to 

 do that will, but because he chose to obey 

 God; neither was it because he could not 

 disobey, for, if I mistake not, he could have 

 disobeyed, if he chose, just as I can disobey. 

 In studying his life, we lind, instead, all 

 along the pathway, it rebuked any unbelief 

 or skepticism we may be likely to fall into. 

 For instance, we sometimes repine because 

 God does not answer our prayers, or does 

 not give us what we crave and ask. Neither 

 did he answer or consent to the request that 

 his only begotten Son made when he prayed 

 in the garden, " O my Father, if it be possi- 

 ble, let this cup pass from me." It is true, 

 he added immediately afterward, "Neverthe- 

 less, not as I will, but as thou wilt." 



Now. friends, we are taught to follow 

 Christ, for he says, "He that taketh not his 

 cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy 

 of me." And if we are to follow him, can 

 we so live that our meat is to do the will of 

 him who sent us V You may say, we are not 

 sent, as Christ was sent. In answer to which 

 I again and again revert to the passage 

 where we are told to follow him ; and again 

 we are told to "seek first the kingdom of God 

 and his righteousness, and all these things 

 shall be added laito you." You see, if our 

 greatest desire is to obey, even as Jesus our 

 Savior obeyed, we have (J od's promise that he 

 will take care of the meat and the drink and 

 the clothing. Do you not remember where 

 he says, "Take no thought for the life, what 

 ye shall eat, nor for the body, what ye shall 

 put on. Is not the life more than meat, and 

 the body than raiment" V Please read all 

 along througli this twelfth chapter of Luke, 

 from which I have just been quoting, and 

 see if we are not exhorted to forget, as it 

 were, our meat and our clothing, in our de- 

 sire for that spiritual food which God prom- 

 ises to all his children. He says again, "And 

 seek not what ye shall drink, neither be ye 

 of doubtful mind." I can readily imagine 

 that Peter, or perhaps our friend Thomas, of 

 doubtful mind, here interposes : 



"Lord, how is it we shall take no thought 

 of food or clothing V Under what conditions 

 may we put these very important things in 

 life as only secondary "V" 



We may readily infer that the Savior guess- 

 ed their thoughts, for he says immediately 

 afterward, "iiut rather seek ye the kingdom 

 of God, and all these things shall be added 

 unto you." 



As if that promise were not enough, he 

 goes on still further, and in kind and loving 

 words says : " Fear not, little fiock." Were 

 ever any words more appropriate to those 

 poor simple-hearted fellows? And then comes 

 this great and wonderful promise, making 

 food and raiment sink into utter insignifi- 

 cance, so to speak— "For it is your Father's 

 good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 

 As I understand it, not only were they to be 

 supplied with the neeesi'aries of life, but to 

 those who will seek God and his righteous- 

 ness before every thing else the world can 

 atford, the promise is ultimately the whole 

 universe; for you know we have it again in 

 Christ's own words, in that wonderful ser- 

 mon, " Blessed are the meek, for they shall 

 inherit the earth." 



Do you ask me if it is our duty to stop 

 working and toiling for food and raiment, 

 and houses and places of business, and en- 

 deavor to follow Christ by having no earthly 

 ])OSsessions ? No, I do not so understand it. 

 J3ut I do understand, that in all our business 

 operations our foremost thought should be, 

 like that of our Savior, to do the will of our 

 Father ; that is, our first and foremost ob- 

 ject and aim and passion in life should not 

 be to make money, neither to accumulate 

 property, nor to get education, but to do the 

 will of the Father. Let me try to make a 

 pen-picture lor a suggestion. You know 

 how people occasionally get carried away 

 with some single idea or invention of theirs. 

 One learns to handle bees, and he rejoices at 

 every opportunity of hiving a swarm and 

 transferring a colony. He will even go and 

 do such work for his neighbors, just for the 

 fun of it, working for nothing, in order to 

 test his ability to manage tlie little insects. 

 Another one loves horses. He loves to prove 

 his ability to so win upon their affections 

 and feelings as to be able to manage them as 

 liarey did. He does not want any horses to 

 balk ; but yet he feels so certain that he can 

 handle a balky horse successfully, he re- 

 joices at the opportunity of being near when 

 a horse does bulk. Handling horses is his 

 meat and drink. He would rather do it than 

 to eat, as the young lawyer says. He goes 

 out among horses, working with them with- 

 out charge, just because he loves to, and 

 loves the horses. His object is not to make 

 money— at least, not for the time being. It 

 is to "follow out this wonderful new world 

 that is opening to him in this direction, and 

 to study God, perhaps, through (iod's crea- 

 tures. Jle loves tlie work, instead of loving 

 the money that it brings him. 



Now to go back to this man wbo goes into 

 business. Suppose he has become thorough- 

 ly converted. He has studied the life of Je- 

 sus until he rejoices at an opportunity of 

 demonstrating to the world the power there 

 is in the maxims Christ has taught. He 

 reads to the world, and talks to it about 

 turning the other cheek also, when one is 

 persecuted. The world " pooh s " at it, be- 

 cause the idea is so much against the grain, 



