It
is a pleasant thing to remember that in the whole circuit of the sun the new year is ushered in with that kindly greeting which expresses a native, elemental sense of brotherhood, a bit of that spontaneous good will which is indifferent to all the separations that selfishness and social caste have made.
In
thinking upon the approaching close of the year, a hymn which was at one time a favorite with the writer was recalled,—the one by Miss Cary that begins with these lines:—
When
the Samaritans failed to welcome Christ Jesus, "because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem," James and John were so far lacking in understanding of their Master's mission upon earth that they asked him, "Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Although
mortals have widely differing opinions about many things, all who are above the plane of actual savagery are agreed that certain moral requirements are equally binding upon all men, specifically the provisions of the Decalogue, which safeguard the lives, property, and reputations of mankind.
A student
of social conditions in London has recently called attention to the startling fact that, according to the reports of Christian workers among the poor, when a certain level of destitution has been reached the situation seems to become quite hopeless, and from this he argues rightly that Christian thought should awaken to the fact that the gross violation of economic law is largely responsible for these conditions.
It
is scientific as well as Christian that "all things be done decently and in order," and this is especially true when applied to the organization of Christian Science societies or branch churches, for if each step of such organization be rightly taken, the possibility of friction and misunderstanding in later years will be avoided.
