A Christain.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 24 July 1912, Page 3

A Christain.

In his address on Sunday last Mr Milner said, A person is not a christian by merely attending a place of worship on Sunday, no more than a man becomes an engineer by visiting a workshop occasionally. A Christian is one who drinks in and believes in the teaching of Christ, one who follows him in thought and deed. There are many voices around us calling our attention to various aspects and pros* pects of life, there is the voice of rjleasure calling us to a life of ease, the voice of the cursed drink calling our youth to a life of dissipation and sin, and now to ascend'from the degraded to the sublime there is the voice of our country calling for service and sacrifice, science calling for devotion to its cause, medicine to the noble study of means to illeviate human suffering, and amidst them all there is the still small voice calling to a life of righteousness and purity. No one has pleaded and proved their claims so eloquently as the Lord Jesus Christ, is man weak lie strengthen, is man sinful he forgives and cleanses, is man diseased he cures, is man dead or dying he raises and quickens. He like the doctor who sucked the poison from the wound of a * little girl, laid down his life for mankind, he grappled with, yea and conquorod death and burst asunder the grave, and to all who hear his call and follow him he promises that though they die yet shall they live and cry " Oh death where ie thy sting, where grave thy victoiy." Thus his call is an offer of himself as Saviour and life-giver to all rsion. Then again he calls a life of service and sacrifice, it is deplorable fact that most of our boys and girls on leaving school arc allowed to drift into oe3upa» tions without consideration of the environment they are brought under ; three things should be considered for them, the effect on health, the effect on character, and the future held out to them. The Christ is the best and grandest character man has ever known and the future ho offers is life everlasting and eternal glory. His service is not easy, he said, if any man would come after me let him. deny himself, take up has cross and follow me, but remember those who follow him shall be partakers of his glory. Nor is sin easy for it leads to disease and thence to death, physical, moral and eternal, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God Eternal life,