4. Brotherly -love is a test of character. — For the love of the brotherhood is the love of a man because he is a man in Christ. It is a great test of Christian character to be able to discern the likeness to Christ in a man, and to love that and nothing else but that in him. For there may be much in Christians that may be unattractive. Some of them may be censorious, or in other ways disagreeable. It is something to be able to neglect all these elements of repulsion, and to see the root of the matter in an imperfect Christian, and love it. Then how great a thing it is to love the brotherhood simply because of the likeness to Christ in them, and to love them the more, the more they are like Christ. No wonder though this is placed high in the unfolding of faith.
^ Shortly after this, I was greatly refreshed by the visit of an American whaler, the Camden Packet, under Captain Allan. He, his chief officer, and many of his double company of seamen were decided Christians — a great contrast to most of the Traders that had called at Port Eesolution. The Captain cordially invited me on board to preach and conduct a religious service. That evening I enjoyed exceedingly — wells in the desert ! The Captain intro- duced me, saying, —
" This is my ship's company. The first officer and most of my men are real Christians, trying to love and serve Jesus Christ. We have been three years out on this voyage, and are very happy with each other. You would never hear or see worse on board of this vessel than you see now. And God has given us gratifying success."
He afterwards told me that he had a very valuable cargo of sperm oil on board, the vessel being nearly filled up with it. He was eager to leave supplies, or do something for me, but I needed
^ G. A. Smith, The Life of Henry Dnimmond, 475.
2 PETER I. 5-7 187
nothing that he could give. His mate, on examining my boat, found a hole in her, and several planks split and bulged in, as I had gone down on a reef with her when out on Mission work, and narrowly escaped drowning. Next morning, the Captain, of his own accord, set his carpenter to repair the boat, and left it as good as new. Not one farthing of recompense would any of them take from me ; their own Christian love rewarded them, in the circum- stances. I had been longing for a chance to send it to Sydney for repairs, and felt deeply thankful for such unexpected and generous aid. The Captain would not admit that the delay was any loss to him — his boats spending the day in purchasing cocoa-nuts and provisions from the Natives for his own ship. Oh, how the Christlike spirit knits together all true followers of Christ! What other earthly or human tie could have so bound that stranger to me ? In the heart of Christ we met as brothers.^
VIII.
Love.
Love here signifies philanthropy, — universal love ; the love of humanity, of all mankind, as distinct from, or additional to, the peculiar domestic affection of the Church, Lest " the love of the brotherhood " should degenerate into a selfish and sectarian thing, — a narrow, exclusive, unamiable sentiment, — the Apostle directs that it is to flow beyond the walls of the sacred enclosure, or rather to have added to it another sentiment that will do this, and that thus the Christian is to acknowledge in every man one that has claims on his soul and service.
^ I remember when I was in Japan, on one occasion travelling along the bank of a river which had been swollen by the great floods, and there was a poor beggar who tried to cross from the other side, within reach by rope or by wading of thirty or forty strong men. I did not see him go into the river, but from my palanquin I saw in the middle of the flood an arm rising out of the water and the next a foot and the next a pile of rags, as it seemed to me, and I asked my interpreter, a cultivated and refined Japanese, what it was. " Oh," he said, " that is a beggar ! " " Well, why don't those men help him?" "Oh, he's only a beggar." " Well," I said, " what if he is, why don't they help him ? " They looked at the beggar just as you and I would look on a piece of
^ John Q. Palm, i. 203.
i88 THE UNFOLDING OF CHARACTER
floating wood, and they let him drown. And in a moment or two there was nothing but a mass of rags, with now and then a hand or foot standing up, being swept down to the ocean. That was within twenty-five feet of a strong party of able-bodied men ! Why didn't they help him ? Were they cruel ? No, Do not the Japanese love their children ? Yes. Do not they love humanity ? Yes, in a certain way. But they always have this feeling that if a man is in difficulty, and there is not much chance for him, let him go, unless he is their brother or relation. If he is a beggar or a man below them they never think of helping him. Times have changed since Christianity came there. That is what I saw, and I bear witness to the truth which I believe, that the love of man, simply because he is a man, does not exist outside of Christendom. I may be mistaken, but I believe I am speaking the truth.^