Chapter 4 - part 4
"And, Sam,
one look at the glory in that woman’s face as she rejoices in her belief
was enough to make me ashamed to bring up our tenth objection. Why, if she
is right and doing God’s will, what difference does ridicule make! I do
admire a person who will face anything to follow his convictions. The
majority has always been wrong, Sam, and has laughed at those who have
stood for right. Think of Jesus Himself, and Paul, and Luther, and Wesley.
They were all laughed to scorn, but they were right. It is always lot of
people who do things to be laughed at. If I thought I was right, I’d do
it, no matter what people said. Wouldn’t you, Sam?"
"Of course I
would, Sarah; I’d rather have God on my side than have the good will of
the neighbors when they are in the wrong. I’ve been having some pretty
serious thoughts during the past twenty-four hours. It looks to me as if
Richards is right about this Sabbath business. But it would be mighty hard
to arrange my business to keep Saturday when others keep Sunday.
"Oh, you ought
to have heard Mrs. Richards hold forth on that this
afternoon," commented Sarah, all enthusiastic in the praises of her
new-found friend. "She said they were going to obey God if they
starved, and that she believed God was only testing their faith. But she
says she is not going to starve, and quotes David to the effect that he
had never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. She told
me how they had been jumping from pillar to post since they began to keep
the Sabbath, but they had never lacked yet for the necessities of life,
though they had gotten down pretty low at times. Sam, you can’t conquer
people like that. I know God is with them, and I feel shaky about
His being with us, she added.
"I don’t
want to conquer them, Sarah," ejaculated her husband. "It’s
them that’s conquered us, looks like to me. And I don’t feel so bad
over it, either. And God’s going to be on our side, too, wife, as
sure as my name’s Samuel Billington Brown. Let the repair business go
hang. If I can’t do that and serve God too, I’ll find some other way
to make a living. What do you say?"
"That’s just
what I was going to say myself, she answered, the tears of joy flowing
unchecked down her cheeks, "but I was afraid to propose it. Mrs.
Richards and I had prayer together before I left, and I seem to be a
changed woman."
Sam pushed back his
chair with some racket, blew his nose violently, and came around the table
to plant a kiss on his wife’s brow.
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