Christian fiction; Medical fiction; Scotland -- Fiction; Surgeons -- Fiction; Wingfold, Thomas (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
When, however, Dorothy came to concern herself about the will of God, in
trying to help her father to do the best with their money, she began to
reap a little genuine comfort, for then she found things begin to
explain themselves a little. The more a man occupies himself in doing
the works of the Father--the sort of thing the Father does, the easier
will he find it to believe that such a Father is at work in the world.
In the curate Mr. Drake had found not only a man he could trust, but one
to whom, young as he was, he could look up; and it was a trait in the
minister nothing short of noble, that he did look up to the
curate--perhaps without knowing it. He had by this time all but lost
sight of the fact, once so monstrous, so unchristian in his eyes, that
he was the paid agent of a government-church; the sight of the man's own
house, built on a rock in which was a well of the water of life, had
made him nearly forget it. In his turn he could give the curate much;
the latter soon discovered that he knew a great deal more about Old
Testament criticism, church-history, and theology--understanding by the
last the records of what men had believed and argued about God--than he
did. They often disagreed and not seldom disputed; but while each held
the will and law of Christ as the very foundation of the world, and
obedience to Him as the way to possess it after its idea, how could they
fail to know that they were brothers? They were gentle with each other
for the love of Him whom in eager obedience they called Lord.
The moment his property was his availably, the minister betook himself
to the curate.
"Now," he said--he too had the gift of going pretty straight, though not
quite so straight as the curate--"Now, Mr. Wingfold, tell me plainly
what you think the first thing I ought to do with this money toward
making it a true gift of God. I mean, what can I do with it for somebody
else--some person or persons to whom money in my hands, not in theirs,
may become a small saviour?"
"You want, in respect of your money," rejoined the curate, "to be in the
world as Christ was in the world, setting right what is wrong in ways
possible to you, and not counteracting His? You want to do the gospel as
well as preach it?"
"That is what I mean--or rather what I wish to mean. You have said
it.--What do you count the first thing I should try to set right?"
"I should say _injustice_. My very soul revolts against the talk about
kindness to the poor, when such a great part of their misery comes from
the injustice and greed of the rich."
"I well understand," returned Mr. Drake, "that a man's first business is
to be just to his neighbor, but I do not so clearly see when he is to
interfere to make others just. Our Lord would not settle the division of
the inheritance between the two brothers."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account