1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



189 



HOMES, 



BY A.I. Root. 



Then answered Peter and f-aid unto him, Behold, we 

 have fo!srtkt-ii all, and fo lowed thee; what shall we 

 have tlieref.^re ? — Matt. 11): 27. 



What shall we have as a reward or rec- 

 ompense for foregoing- pleas^ures a Christian 

 ought not to indulge in? This question oft- 

 en comes up. especially from those who 

 contemplate bearing the cross of a Christian 

 life, as to what we shall receive that will 

 counterbalance the value or the pleasure of 

 these worldl}' things given up. In our last 

 Home paper I suggested that theater- going 

 was not conducive to the highest .<;tate of 

 spirituality. There has been considerable 

 said, also, not only in regard to worldly 

 amu-ements, playing cards, going to 

 dances, etc., but giving up tobacco, signing 

 the pledge, etc. M.my of us are asking the 

 question which seems to have been in Pe- 

 ter's mind as he reminded the Master that 

 they had left all and followed him. The 

 answer our Savior gives seems to average 

 humanity rather extrav igant (see Matt. 19: 

 28, 29; Mark 10:29, 30; Luke 18:29, 30), 

 and j'et I think that every one who has 

 really left all — every thing that is even 

 qutstionable — to follow faithfully the Lord 

 Jesus Christ, will be able to testify at 

 any time that the reply is not at all ex- 

 travag-ant. When I published the letters 

 from Bro. Whitcomb 1 felt sure they were 

 goin j^ to bear fruit, and good fruit, too, and 

 I wish to submit to you a sample of it. 

 We will let Bro. Whitcomb introduce the 

 matter: 



Dear Bro Root: - The enclosed letter, coming to nie 

 th s niijining, lelates an experience which I know 

 •will be of deep interest lo yuu I do not approve of 

 hi.s plan of alljwing his copies of ui^eani>;i.s lo ac- 

 cumulate unread until I he ?ipint moves lo action, asiu 

 this case, but I enclose the K t er I am gad lo bear 

 testimony for Je.^us to-day, and I ftel that I have the 

 wit ess of the Spirit within my heart thi^. morning. 



Friend, Neb., Feb. 1. K. Whitcomb. 



Now, the writer of the following, evident- 

 ly, did not intend it for print; but I feel so 

 sure, from the spirit of it, that the dear 

 brother will be willing to give his testimony 

 wherever it may do good, I take the liberty 

 of giving it entire. 



My dear Brother lVhitcomb:—0\\ account of certain 

 events which transpirea recently in this community, 

 wlii^h had the effect of making me feel sad bLC.iiise 

 of the cnurch's attitude lov\ard sjn e of the ma ly 

 evils which surround ii in Ihepiesent day and age, 

 and because of ihe meager fruit> ispirilual) manilts:- 

 ed on the p.irt of many who profess to have been con- 

 ve ted to i.od. and are now in hi- strviie, and while 

 medit iting and womltring if, when Christ shall make 

 his second appeiring, he would find faith on the 

 e irtn, an imijulse unaccounled for .'■eized me lo tear 

 the wrapper tiom a co|)y of Gleanin s many of 

 which lie on my desk uiitouchid ince brought in by 

 the mails, and, >-itr;inge to -ay by a p culiar coinci- 

 dence I .selected from at least eight journds so un- 

 touched the one in which >our glorious conversion is 

 Teporied. I am not sure, Bro. W , bul I could have 

 been heard to say. "Yes glory to G' d ! there is still 

 faiih oil the earth." And 1 t me 'ay right here that I 

 regard tills coincidence as pro'id ntial. Iieailihere- 

 po! t. and said lo myself, " Piaise God, his spirit is still 

 operating on the hearts of the people, and his power 



is still sufTicieiit to transform men from a life of sin 

 and captivity unto a life of liberty and u'^etulness " 

 What an upiift the leatlii g of that re poi t was to my 

 soul ! How 1 was made to rejoice that the gospel of 

 Jtsus Christ is as much to-day as it ever was the 

 power of t.od untosilvation to all who believe. I v\as 

 so tlaied on reading, and after having taken su:h a 

 gloomy view of tliitigs, that 1 rushed into the house 

 and read it to my wile, and we both rejoiced I have 

 also h d several of my friends who came into the siore 

 rtad it, and I noticed it caused on ihtm, as it did on 

 me, the tears of joy tocour.se down their chteks. So 

 that the retuni of a ^oul tot^o 1 is not only an occasion 

 for joy on the part of the angels in heaven, but alsO' 

 for the saints on earth. Your letter has such a genu- 

 ine spiruual ring lo it that I have no hesitancy in ac- 

 cepting jour piolession that yc urs is a religion of the 

 heart and not merely of Ihe head. 



I also rejoice in the stand you have taken with ref- 

 fereuce to the use of lohacco, and al-o the way you 

 met the Devil's temptations that you could not run 

 a newspaper and be a Christian. Oh, how subtile 

 Satan IS ! Ever lean on Gods infallible piomists, and 

 he will surely b ing to pass the desire of your heart. 

 You will, i.o doubt, AOiider why I am taking such an 

 interest in your conver.-ion. Well in the first place 

 it is because l am interested in the salvation of sljuIs; 

 and, s coiid, because I claim you as a brother bee- 

 keeper; and, furthermore, I can justly lay claim lo a 

 short personal friend-hip, besides a 1( ng acquaint- 

 ance by i eputation. You will, quite possibly net re- 

 member me; hut we had the plesaure of mt eiing each 

 other at a convention held in Buffalo six or seven 

 years ago. Now, Bro Whitcomb, panlon me for giv- 

 ing you just a few words ot my experience. While I 

 am ill my -JJth \ear, I have nevertheless actually lived, 

 in the true sense, 1 ss than four j-eais At that time 

 Goit touched my heart in a very similar way to that 

 of vour own case ; and. oh how ihanklul I have ever 

 been that I yielded obeoience to that call I I have 

 ti uly ei'joyt d God's showers of blessing, but it has not 

 beeu a 1 sunshine. There has been some severe test- 

 ing, of which 1 just wish to relate a little for your en- 

 couragement. 



1 also was a victim of the tobacco habit, and was, 

 soon after my conversion, convinced by God that, to 

 continue this habit, "as not consistent with Chrstian 

 liviui , and there and then resolved with God's help to 

 forsake it. I a>ked him to help me, and by faith 

 trusted in his power to do so; and he gave me the vic- 

 tor .not only over the lemptation to yield, but alsa 

 over the apt elite But this was not all You will no- 

 tice by this letterhead that I am in the mercantile 

 business, and. ot course sold tol a.co ar d c gars. This- 

 also looked inc nsistent, to sell that to others which 

 1 felt condemned iu using myself. This caused a tre- 

 mendous struggle. The Devil plainly lold me, "You 

 can not conduct your business successtully without 

 handling tobacco. You will lose trade; people will 

 call you a foo ." But through earnest prayer for 

 guidance and he'p I finally decided to cbey mv con- 

 victions, ev 11 though it diove me out of business. I 

 obeyed, and am still in business at the old stand after 

 a trial ol over two years ; and let me assure j on that 

 it is a matter of extreme satisfaction to me, when ask- 

 ed f r tobacco orcigats, to be able to say, " We do not 

 handle them." 



And now let me encourage you to faithfulness, 

 which I also wish for myself. \^ e have both spent 

 much of our life in sin ; let us both, as G d wives us 

 grace, live the remainder of our da\s to his glory, that 

 we may, whei our journev on • arth is ended, meet in 

 the belter land, with all ihe redeemed. 



Bethesda, Ont., Ian. 29. D. W. Heise. 



Why, dear friends, the suggestion that a 

 man will not be prospered in business who 

 lets his religion shine out and through every 

 part of it is utterly ridiculous. Look at the 

 men all over our land who have been sud- 

 denly raised to positions of prominence by 

 starting out for truth and honesty and fair- 

 ness. The ones who are afraid to apply re- 

 ligion to business, who are afraid io tell the 

 truth, no matter where it hits nor whotn it 

 hurts, alwaj's remain in the background; 

 but the officer of the law who regards his 

 oath of office as ssanething sacred and holy 

 is wanted ererywhere. Is it going to injure 

 the standing of President Roosevelt to come 



