SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1188, 7 December 1894, Page 18

SUNDAY READING.

“NUMBER ONE.”

BY B.EV. WILLIAM BIRCH. Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.—Matthew x;, 39. The noblest life is one -used for others’ good. Any lowbr level is disfigurement. 'To improve and gladden mankind should be the universal motive'of conduct; and as our Lord identifies Himself with every human being, kindness done to anyone is rendered to Him. I.—-To CARE ONIiT FOB SERF IS THE lowest nature. (1) It arises from a false idea of one’s importance.-' In the Revelation we read about the Greek number of the beast; is not its English meaning Number One ? A most selfish beast is he. At a certain, revival meeting, the collection was taken during the singing of a hymn, and one good old soul who was well-to-do but rather stingy, looking towards heaven, sang with feeling, “All I have, i give to Jesus !’’ She didn’t, wouldn’t see the plate, and the collector nudged her with it saying, “ Lady, won’t you give Him a silver coin ?’’ Poor old lady, how she fumbled to fetch one from the corner of her purse-one with a plain edge; and she tried to seem as if she were happy when she placed it on the plate. Some people are so genei*ous as to eat all the soft piece of the slice, and give the hard crust to the poor widow; but they wait a little to see if anyone else will give theirs first. The world applauds the man who gives his crust to the destitute widow—it applauds, because it saves its own crust. To collect for religion and charity is now called “bleeding” and “sticking up,” “Tell him, I’m out,” and . Number On© runs hurriedly into the Back garden to transform a lie into truth. “Qharity” is not always inspired by needs, but often for advertised renown. Yes; a solfishly-wise beast is “ Number One.”

In present circumstances, if yonder hungry man be willing to work, we are bound to find him . either work or bread; for does not our Father reckon him as valuable as. any other human creature ? You reply; “ Cannot we do as we will with our own ?” Yes; but what

is your own ? Did you create yourself, this earth on which you dwell, the air you breathe? We are not masters to do as we like with as much of Hod’s earth and gold

as we can: obtain ; we > are servants;; yea, wo are children, and every other man is equally the child of our Creator. Do as we will with our own ? Yes ; as a pig—

“ guzzle as much as possible, for don’t other pigs do the same ?” Are you a pig ? Be he king, bishop, or knight, no man has the God-given, right to ;be . clothed luxuriously and fare sumptuously every day while the equally God-loved Lazarus starves at the gate. (2) To be worthy of the name, selfdenial should be • voluntary and for others’ good. The student “grinds,” but is it not for ambition or pay ? The young artist wearily toils and the soldier risks life; but is it to benefit mankind or self ? As a rule; it is; compulsory hardship to obtain a fashionable living.; Hovr seldom the average ; man undergoes: continued selfdenial for others’ good rather than his own! ;So seldom that the many suppose it pays liim in. material things to do so. - Thank God, there are exceptions; but if a bishop, minister, surgeon, artist or sweep come into a fortufie, does he not retire from ■/. his benefit-for-pthers’ business, and henceforth carry on the business of looking after Number One .? .• , . '

(3) Self-preservation is not an eternal principle, and in some circumstances destroys vnobility. The old school - copy, Self-preservation . is. ; the first law of nature,” means pig - nature ; God never inspired such rubbish as an instruction. In a fire at the. crowded hall, would you

have men leap up and crawl over the heads and shoulders of others and trample down

women in order that their precious Number One may- escape ? 'A mail steamer, with about 50 of a crew and 200 passengers, struck an African rock, and began to sink/ Acting on the pig-idea that seif-preservation- is always one's first aim, the beggarly crew saved themselves, and most of the passengers were lost! Craven cowardice of disgusting type, i ; ll.— Self-sacrifice for Others’ Good is Glorious Personal Salvation. Let me illustrate it. ' Yonder ship has sprung a leak, and during the heavy storm two of her boats have been broken. In the remainder the passengers arid crew wedge themselves, and the captain, who is a heavy man, sees that his weight would endanger the" rest. Standing on the bulwark, he shouts, “You are very crowded, but you have a chance; I will stop on the ship.” With tears in his eyes, the first mate shouts up, “ Captain, come down into my place ; I give it to you ! ’’ and he waits to seize a favourable opportunity to lay hold on the rope ladder. The captain pulls up the ladder, and quietly, but firmly, with a husk in his voice, cries No, no, my brave comrade; away or you will be sucked under the ship ! I command you ! away ! . farewell!” He takes'off his cap, while the Sailors weep like little children ; they pub sadly away, arid when a little distance off they hold, and see the captain standing erect as on parade, but bare-headed; and with the ship he goes down like a god. The purest self-sacrifice is, however, to copy from our heavenly Father and give continual service for others’ good. In Germany dwelt the young bride of a sailor who was drowned in shipwreck off the coast where she lived, and while coming to claim her as wife. But instead of shutting herself in darkness, she puts on the dress of a widow, and works hard until able to buy a light life-boat which she can manage alone, and if a storm comes om she goes out, when the men say it is courting death, goes alone to rescue people from a watery grave; arid three hundred lives has

Catherine saved. She wears no medals ; ( but when she walks through the town the children sometimes kneel down to kiss her skirt and have her blessing; and when a German sailor passes her, he takes off his cap and bows in reverence as to the daughter of God. Of all the noble women in the world, there is none more divine than that widowed bride.

When the Israelites proved themselves too wicked for earthly existence, Moses prayed that his life might be taken instead, and let them have another chance —he was willing to give the self-sacrifice of a moment and have done with them. In answer, he received as a gift the lives of the people, with the call to daily selfsacrifice for forty years in bearing with them and leading' them bo the promised land.

When the Son of God became a man, did He consummate His suffering by the once-for-all death on the cross ? Ah, n© ; lie rose again from the dead, and His service for us is like. that of Catherine and Moses; living not for His own glory, but with the only aim of eradicating our Number One nature .and inspiring us with His eternal bliss. While he regulates revolving worlds and in immeasurable space creates new stars, His master-passion is to bless mankind ; it is eternal self-sacrifices

In the Vatican of Rome I saw a man on a step-ladder copying a famous work of art. He thus brought himself on a line with the face of the pictured Christ, and before he touched his canvas, gave a steady drinking-in look at the features to express them accurately in his work. So in-every act of daily life, let us copy from the spirit of our Lord.

Brothers, how shall the world be saved? Some men reply, “By self-indulgence, by reducing the population, by making the rich disgorge their wealth.” But it is the pig, the bru'e way. The true way is by bearing one another’s burdens, by the rich and poor standing shoulder to shoulder in efforts to bless the race, by every man knowing he is sacred brother and goodSamaritan neighbour to fallen and lost mankind; as the ancient Seneca expressed it, “I would so live as if I knew my life were given me for others’ good.” If we make Number One more important than all other men, we become self - mutilated and so piggishly disfigured, that, when the light of the Lamb reveals us, we shall cry, “ Oh, rocks and hills cover up our offensive shame!” But if we sincerely ask our Father for the spirit of unselfish brotherhood, we shall become sweet as the angels of God and our presence charm the resurrected world. -