7^2 . 



JUVEOTLE GLEANINGS. 



JTor. 



ness V Why. surely not, ye poor deluded fel- 

 lows. I came to seek and to save." How 

 constantly people misunderstood his mission 

 and purpose ! Another poor friend got it 

 into his head, that Jesus came to right 

 wrongs by might and by power, and he came 

 to the Savior to get him to make his brother 

 divide the property rightly. Do you remem- 

 ber Jesus' answer? He said, "Man, who 

 made me a divider over you V" You see, 

 friends, that making somebody do right 

 would not help to save souls in the least. It 

 would have gotten him into an inextricable 

 jargon of ditficulties, while his idea was to 

 save people. 1 can remember years ago, 

 when we were all children, when we fre- 

 quently came into the house, telling about 

 how wicked somebody had been, or how 

 somebody had wronged us, or abu?ed us, 

 that we often ended up by wishing that we 

 had tlie power to punish them according to 

 their just deserts. But mother always used 

 to rebuke us by saying, '■'■ You mean that 

 you wish they were better, do you not, 

 children V" Very often we would reply, 

 " Why, mother, it is not any use hoping 

 that Mr. So and So will ever be any better. 

 Just think how awful bad he is." 



Mother did not always make any further 

 answer, but she shook her head, with a 

 pleasant look that showed plainer than 

 words, " Love ye your enemies." Even 

 poor father, with his old Connecticut views 

 of things, used sometimes to talk pretty 

 severely, and recommend the strong arm of 

 the law for bringing delinquents to justice; 

 and sometimes when mother still plead for 

 the sinning one, we would laugh at her. 

 Some of the older children would say, " Why, 

 mother, you seem to think that tramps and 

 dead beats and horse-thieves and highway 

 robbers, and all that class of people, can be 

 changed by reading the Bible to them." We 

 laughed at mother, and we objected to her 

 way of doing ; but yet in our inmost heart 

 we knew her way was the right one. '• Not 

 by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," 

 was the prevailing thought of her life, and 

 is the prevailing thought; foi', dear friends, 

 1 can thank God that that kind old mother 

 still lives ; and when a good Christian 

 brother comes to see me, after having shown 

 him the sights of the factory, and iriiroduced 

 him to those whom he would like to see, I 

 often take him down to see mother, and 

 have a talk with her, and she always has a 

 leal good visit with any brother who loves 

 the Lord. 



Now, friends, suppose you turn to your 

 Testament, and tind our text ; and when 

 you hnd it, read about the ninety and nine, 

 and about the shepherd being determined 

 not to lose even one sheep, even when he 

 had plenty more left behind. So it was with 

 Jesus in his efforts to save sinners. Even if 

 he had a whole flock of faithful followers, 

 he would go away out into the mountain, 

 seeking for one who had gone astray. And 

 then he tells of the rejoicing about that- 

 one that was saved. You see, it is not 

 his will that even one be lost. " Even so it 

 is not the will of your Father which is 

 in heaven, that one of these litte ones should 

 perish." Again, right after this comes the 



wonderful advice in regard to troubles with 

 neighbors. " If thy brother shall trespass 

 against thee, go and tell him his fault be- 

 tween you and him alone." If you have 

 trouble with anybody, instead of talking it 

 all over the neighborhood go and see the one 

 who has done wrong, and see him alone, and 

 talk it over in a brotherly spirit. 



Not a great while ago some one told me 

 that an old neighbor, and a very dear friend, 

 felt quite hard toward me, and he mention- 

 ed what he said. ''Why did you not tell me 

 this at once, Mr. F. V" 



"Why, I did think of doing so, and then I 

 thought it was not best. But finally I de- 

 cided that probably you would want to know 

 it, and so I told you." 



"I am very glad indeed you have done so, 

 and I am sorry I did not know it at the time 

 of it. I will go at once and see him." 



I left my work, and started otf in the mid- 

 dle of the day. After a while I fimnd him, 

 and asked an explanation. He gave it fully 

 and frankly. Very likely I had been rather 

 careless and foigetful, and may be, besides, 

 indifferent to the rights of my old friend. 

 But some way I had, in a sort of careless 

 manner, overlooked it. Then came the ques- 

 tion again, "Why, Mr. , this happened a 



great while ago. "Why did you not come to me 

 long ago, and tell me how it looked to you V" 



"Well, to tell the truth, Mr. Hoot, I sup- 

 pose that would have been the better way of 

 doing ; but, like almost everybody else, it is 

 a great deal easier for me to complain to oth- 

 ers than it is to go right to the one who has 

 wronged me." 



Now, friends, that is just human nature. 

 I presume that you and I are just about the 

 same in this matter. We can go to a man 

 and give him a blowing-up, sometimes, with- 

 out very much difficulty But if you think 

 it is an easy thing to go in a kind, pleisant, 

 Christian-like way, and tell your grievance 

 to the one who has done badly, just you try 

 it. One of the boys in jail told me one day 

 that it went so terribly against the grain. I 

 know, too, that it does, friends, for the 

 "grain" is mostly the old Adam in us; and 

 a Christ-like spirit is the God part that is not 

 in us until we are changed over. It is, in 

 fact, such a big task to take a hard man and 

 soften him down into this humble spirit, that 

 Christ once expressed it by saying," Ye must 

 be born again." 



Well, where both parties are Christians it 

 is generally a pretty easy matter to fix up all 

 misunderstandings', by going alone to see 

 your friend. Now, did Jesus give us this 

 plan of settling difficulties that we might 

 get along smoothly in the world ? Was his 

 greatest object in directing us so to do that 

 we might get along peaceably, and feel hap- 

 py when we lie down at night after the 

 labors of the day V I used to think it was ; 

 but since 1 have been studying this chap'er, 

 I think I can see a higher motive yet. Tde 

 reasons I have just given are mostly selfish 

 ones. The true reason seems to be right in 

 the close of the loih verse — " If he shall 

 hear thee, thou has gained thy brother;" 

 you have saved that which was lost, and 

 proved yourself woithy to be called a fol- 

 lower of Christ. Sometimes I am templed 



