8. The Lost Christ
Abide in me ! There have been moments blest.
When I have heard Thy voice and felt Thy power;
Then evil lost its grasp; and passion, hushed.
Owned the divine enchantment of the hour.
These were but seasons, beautiful and rare:
Abide in me and they shall ever be!
Fulfill at once Thy precept and my prayer: '
Come, and abide in me, and I in Thee !
- Mrs. H. B. Stowe.
In the second chapter of Luke there is a most significant and instructive incident. Jesus, a boy of twelve, had gone with His parents to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of the Passover. At the close of the great festival, Joseph and Mary joined their friends and set out for home ; but after a day's journey they discovered, to their bitter consternation, that they had come without Jesus. A simple, unexciting incident - but one that is pregnant with meaning, and one that conveys a most helpful message to the young men of to-day.
They " supposed Him to have been in the company." That was their supreme mistake. Christ's presence is so essential that it must never become a matter of careless supposition or momentary speculation. There is more hope of the man who deliberately turns his back upon Christ, frankly confesses his entire disbelief of the Gospel, and cuts off all connection with the church, than of the weak, superficial, backboneless professor, who swallows his father's creed to save trouble, keeps what little religion he has as quiet and obscure as possible to avoid persecution, and then " supposes " it is all right. But "suppose" it is not all right, " suppose " Christ is not with you, " suppose " you are like a rudderless boat in a hurricane - impotent, feeble, demoralized - without guide or light or friend ? This is a matter about which we must be definite and sure. Let everything else go, but at least aim at the certitude and safety which come of daily intercourse with Christ, who alone can secure our highest welfare, promote our most perfect happiness, and cleanse our lives from corruption and sin.
Be careful that you do not lose Christ, for His presence is the only guarantee of a safe and joyous life. Mr. Quintin Hogg tells a remarkable story of an incident which happened at one of our largest clubs. He was chatting with a friend about a man who had died by his own hand. His friend spoke rather indignantly of such an ignoble termination to life, and characterized it, rightly enough, as a cowardly thing for a man to leave others to meet the troubles and reap the bitter harvest he had sown. A well-known scientific man, who was sitting close by, turned round and said, " I think you have expressed a very harsh judgment. I don't consider it the action of a coward, and, for myself, tlie only rest I can look forward to is the grave. " Mr. Hogg's friend, thinking that perhaps the gentleman had lost some dear relative by suicide, qualified his remarks by saying that such crimes were generally committed under the influence of a deranged mind, and that his words did not, of course, apply to a man who was irresponsible for his acts. "There is something worse than derangement, " was the reply, " and that is despair." Mr. Hogg says that his friend was very much shocked at the words, and at the tone in which they were uttered, and began to speak to the scientist as best he could about the love of God. He told him that he could not imagine how those who accepted the help of God could ever despair. " Ah I " was the sad reply, " I gave up my belief in God long ago, and I have had nothing but a deepening despair ever since. I repeat that the grave is the only rest I can hope for - the only home that remains to me. "
Was there ever a sadder story ? Here is a noted man of science making the humiliating confession that life has lost all its brightness, that the outlook is irredeemably black, and that he is in the depths of perpetual despair. He approaches the grave without God and without hope - with nothing but disappointment and darkness and defeat. This is what comes of losing Christ. We have no longer the power to overcome ; we are the sport of circumstances, and gradually we drift on to the cruel, grim, frowning rocks of helpless misery. The story is like a glaring signal, warning us of the danger that Hes ahead. It bids us keep close to the strong, tender Christ - to walk in His footsteps, to try to live His simple, unselfish life - the life that may sometimes be hard and rough and bleak, but is always full of unfailing hope and undimmed love, and bright'with the undoubted promise of ultimate victory.
Where was it that Joseph and Mary missed the boy Christ ? Not in the quiet secluded home at Nazareth. No; they lost Him in the city. That is the concise record of many a young man to-day. In the old country home it was easy enough to live the Christ-life; but when you are pitchforked into the huge city, with all its bewildering multitudes, its disenchanting realism, its seductive snares, and its maddening perplexities, then it is that you are in danger of missing the presence of the Master. When you leave Nazareth for Jerusalem, then comes the battle. From the plain, lonely, healthful life of the country you plunge into the enervating, artificial, and restless existence of the city, and it will be almost a miracle if in this complete change of environment you do not to some extent, lose the conscious presence of Christ.
But what I want to point out to you is this, that unfavorable circumstances are to be conquered. The stern discipline will do you good. Now you are in the city you will require the moral invigoration of Christ's companionship more than ever. The very strenuousness of city life will help to make your Christianity more practical, more manly, and, shall I say, more serviceable. The satisfaction of selfish and Conventional religiousness is no match for the spiritual conflicts of the city. You will have no time to waste in quarrelling about doctrmal differences or in arranging the complicated mechanism of creeds. You want a strong, virile Christianity, which does not frown on the beauties of art, nor fear the researches of science, nor shut its eyes to the charms of music, nor leave the gymnasium and outdoor sport to be the playthings of the devil. This is the Christianity which is to save the city, purging its pleasures and ennobling its thoughts and elevating every detail of its life. It says to young men who are sinking into the aimless existence of the worldling, or the cold, songless despair of the unbeliever, " Brother, you do not only want a Christ who is far away in the dim records of ancient history ; you want a friendly arm to guide you and lift you up. The real Christ is a wise counsellor and a loving companion. He will not rob you of a single pleasure. He will not crush your inquiring spirit or dethrone your intellect. He will charm you by His tenderness, deliver you from the tyranny of passion, and enable you to do the will of God on earth." This is the Evangel for the field of sport, the Gospel for the counting-house, the salvation for the city, and, thank God, thousands of the city young men have listened to its message, and have joyfully received Jesus Christ as a Friend and Brother and Savior. They love the Man of Nazareth - the Christ of God and the Savior of men - with an ardent and unspeakable affection which inevitably constrains them to toil for the welfare and happiness of their race. They live a large, free, happy life, and they live it supremely for that great Master whose presence is its sublime inspiration, and whose " Well done I " is its highest reward
But I notice, also, that Christ was lost during the excitement of a feast, and many men to-day could testify that they have found His presence less real and their own love less warm, as the result of reckless indulgence or irrational pleasures. It was in a crowd, too, that Jesus was missed - and it is the busy whirl and riotous rush of modern life that endangers our unbroken communion with heaven. We live at a desperate pace, every hour is occupied by the bustle of business or the fever of amusement, and so in the jostling of the crowd it seems as if He had sHpped away, and behold I the light of our life has gone out, we miss His smile and fear to take another step because we have lost His protection. Brothers, this must not be. We must have our quiet hours of seclusion and repose lest the world should altogether absorb our attention.
But there is a cheering sequel to the story of the lost Christ. They found Him. Directly they discovered that He was missing, they went back to Jerusalem to look for the lost Christ. But here is a fact which we must not ignore. It did not take one day to lose Christ, but it took three days to find Him. How true that is ! A foul jest, an impure thought, an hour's dalliance with sin, and the sunshine of His presence is eclipsed. And then comes the long and bitter repentance that rends the heart, the weary soul-tormeriting search for the deserted Lord. Let us not despair, however, for Christ was found in the city after all. Persevere manfully, hopefully - do not give up, even when the search seems to be in vain. Christ is never very far from those who seek Him, and even in the city - dark and bitter and unwholesome as it may be - He is to be found by honest hearts and true.
The end of the story points a useful moral for young men in great cities. They found Christ in the Temple, and you, my brother, will most .likely find Him there too. Nothing is more distressing to ministers than to witness the small proportion of young men in our churches. Nothing is more spiritually suicidal than the way in which men neglect the house of prayer. One reason for this is ignorance. Many young men, who in other respects are sane and reasonable, have a most baseless and unworthy prejudice against preachers. But no manly, honest fellow will allow himself to be fettered by prejudice. Seek for Christ, therefore, in the Temple. In the calm, quiet sanctuary some sweet song may cheer you ; some noble utterance may inspire you; and Christ Himself may enter your heart and make it to throb with love - touch your lips and set them on fire with a message to the world, and clasp your hands and make them busy in His service. Then you will know the joy of faith and the rapture of self-sacrifice. Then life will be worth living.
And now as we finish the story of the lost Christ, we may well ask : Is He with us to-day, not only as a personal friend and Savior, but as a powerful influence in the larger life of the nation } Is the spirit of Christ bringing us nearer to the social regeneration of mankind ? Looking out upon the world the first impression is deeply discouraging. First of all, there is a distressing overplus of laborers. Strong men, eager for honest toil, endure the agonies of hunger and exposure, and in many cases the additional sorrow of beholding the sufferings of their family. On the other hand, overwhelming wealth is often allied with avarice and immorality, and while the poor starve by inches, the rich - to a large extent - ignore the needs of their brethren, and are only solicitous that Lazarus should not become inconveniently prominent. Thousands of young men are forced to slave in cramped shops and cheerless warehouses for sixty and seventy hours a week, with never an interval for physical recreation or intellectual improvement. In attics and cellars women sew shirts or make cheap clothing for inhuman " sweaters " for a wage which is insufficient for the rent of a bed - not to speak of a separate room - and are often compelled to choose between starvation and vice. In other sections of the same cities whole streets are in the possession of rouged and painted sirens of sensuality and sin - every one a standing rebuke to the weakness and wickedness of man. Europe literally bristles with bayonets, and instead of settling trifling disputes by wise and fair consultation, the nations continue to rush into the mad devilry of carnage and conflagration. As for the young men, thousands of them are gambling themselves into prison, or drinking themselves into early graves ; and yet every respectable newspaper is occupied with long reports of horse-races, and a so called Christian Community permits a saloon to be planted at the corner of every street. Sin is made easy, vice is made cheap, trickery prevails in trade, bitterness in politics, and apathy in religion. Does not the glad message of " Peace on earth, goodwill to men," which the angels once rang out over the moonlit meadows of Bethlehem, seem like a ghastly satire in ears accustomed to the rumors of war the strife of parties, and the cries of the oppressed ?
Nevertheless, I maintain that Christ is with us, and that there is a growing recognition of human brotherhood the world over. Years ago we should have been unmoved by the horror and iniquity of war. The social sores which alarm and distress us to-day would have been regarded as normal aud irredeemable. But to the enlightened vision of earnest Christians they now appear diabolical and degrading, and this very fact proves that we are advancing. Let those who think that the general outlook is becoming more dismal, read the history of what we ironically call the " good old times." They will find that at a period within the memory of many now living, one-seventh of the inhabitants of Liverpool, England, lived in cellars, five-sixths of the inhabitants of Rochdale had scarcely a blanket apiece, one person in every eleven throughout England was receiving relief from the poor rates, and three children out of four were receiving no schooling whatever. Children of six, five, or even four years of age, were kept at hard work in the mines, and hunger, disease, ignorance, and brutal vice were alarmingly prevalent. Of course, if it is any consolation to unhealthy pessimists to believe that we are inevitably getting worse, then who would deny them that tender and refreshing thought ? But we may well rejoice in the fact that the general aspect of social life was never so bright as it is to-day. Poverty and impurity and intemperance still exist, but the way to fight and annihilate these evils is not to sit down and sigh, but to be up and doing with cheerful alacrity and tireless preseverance.
Surely it is a striking indication of the presence of Christ and the vitality of Christianity when great evils are regarded as intolerable. If our hearts are saddened by the awful contrast between grim poverty and glittering wealth, we may find hope and courage in the fact that real, vigorous, common-sense Christianity is making unmistakable progress. The day of hollow shams, of rigid formaHsm and luxurious selfishness, is nearly over. Thank God, all Christians are not lounging in cushioned pews and comforting one another with the assurance that
Doing is a deadly thing ;
Doing ends in death.
Some have discovered that to contemplate the prospective glories of heaven is not nearly so useful as to bring heaven's glory down to earth. The genius of true religion is practical beneficence, and it cannot be deaf to the cry of human sorrow and need ; it must take the great bleeding world to its heart, and tend it lovingly until all its wounds are healed.
Let us be of good cheer, for Christ is not lost. We know He is with us, for we see an ever-increasing spirit of brother-hood extending throughout the world. We know He is with us, for there is springing up a self-sacrificing burdenbearing, truth-loving Christianity, which shall yet dispel the appalling gloom of earth's despair. Christ Himself is with us, and He is calling upon every young man to join in the bloodless battle for righteousness. Be silent and stagnant and selfish no longer. Give Him your unwavering trust, your unquestioning obedience, your undivided love, and in return He will give you a life that shall be joyous, serene, triumphant. (End)