"He that is guilty of using

His friends for selfish gain
Should never again feel worthy
Their confidence to retain.

"True friendship's highest regard

The Master clearly commends
In setting forth the lesson

Of loyalty to friends."

We seek comfort in various ways: First, friendship; second, meditation; third, work. All three are important and can bring much comfort.

I. Friendship truly is of such worth we would be rich if we had friends but none of the world's goods.

Again, should we not have earthly friends but know Him who is the friend that sticketh closer than a brother, we are rich.

II. Meditation has been vital in every life that has achieved. It has been the springboard to accomplishment. Meditation has been a blessing to those who sorrow. For through it we often find the key that unlocks the treasure house of blessing; we find the light that dispels the darkness that surrounds us; and we find the courage to overcome our fears.

With the psalmist we would say, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."

Poem, "The Secret of His Presence," by Lloyd Carlton Shank:

"It is good for us to wander

Through the fields and far away
From the trials and temptations
That beset us every day:

To the secret of His presence

Where He teaches us to know

That 'tis here we find refreshing

Where His living waters flow.

"O, the rapture of this meeting

With the friend who understands

And calms out every tempest

Through the power of His Commands.

So my brother, I entreat you

That you seek without delay

And you'll find in Him the quenching
For your thirsting soul today."

III. Work, “The tree of life is laden with promise for him who works." (Rev. S. R. Bratcher, Methodist minister.)

GEORGE CHRISTOPHER was a worker.

The Sermon on the Mount teaches us that to work is blessed.

Poem, "Work,” by an unknown author:

"This is the gospel of labor,

Ring it, ye bells of the kirk;

The Lord of love came down from above

To live with the men who work.

This is the rose He planted

Here in the thorn-cursed soil.
Heaven is blest with perfect rest,

But the blessing of earth is toil."

We who remain today can find comfort in work.

The Apostle Paul said, “I am debtor."

Three things that prompt us to work:

1. An awareness that we owe something to ourselves and families. 2. We are indebted to others: (a) for our heritage, (b) for our blessings.

3. We are indebted to God:

(a) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (I Corinthians 15: 58.) May we find comfort then in friendship, in meditation, and work.

ORIGINAL AND UNPUBLISHED POEMS WRITTEN BY THE HONORABLE GEORGE H. CHRISTOPHER

JIM

He had religion's blessed hope

Of mansions in the sky.

But it so happened that one day

Jim took his bed to die;

"Up yonder" then he whispered as the

Preacher closed his pray,

"But going from Missouri

I'll get lonesome over there.”

REMEMBERED NAMES

Remember the names we knew long ago

When in youth we first lived in this land?

There was Westover, Armentrout, Bailey, and Scott And Marshall and Allen and Hand.

There was Rabourn and Cowdry and Maddy and Park And Dawson and Barton and Burns;

They are gone like dry leaves in a November wind

And scarcely a memory returns.

YOUTH'S SPIRIT

A few more years-a few more years

The past will be behind,

Sweet in the shroud of faded hopes
Dear to my inmost mind.

I think 'twill haunt my after life,
That spirit young and bold

That will take me back to the long ago,
Ere I became so old.

MY VANISHED FRIEND

Around the corner, I had a friend,

I knew not he was nearing the end;
The days slipped by and weeks wore on
And before I knew it, my friend was gone.

And for months I had not seen his face

For life sets a swift and terrible pace

And that's what I get and deserve in the end:
Around the corner-a vanished friend.

ETERNAL SPRING

There came a spring so long ago

The winter's sleep was scarcely broken,

The south wind and the sun returned

Listening for words that were never spoken.

Though two score years and more are gone
Spring now comes just the same as then,

And if we had it all to do

We'd do it just the same again.

There was a spring that never came

But we have lived enough to know,

That what we never have we keep

While everything we have must go.

LOST LOVE

I walk alone beneath a wishing moon

Where love bends low to kiss a dream goodby;
Since God has said, with me she could not stay
Each morn I wake to greet a loveless day.

MY BELOVED

A moss-covered cabin by a flowing brook
At the foot of a mountain in a shady nook,
With a winding patch to a sparkling spring
Where bluebirds warble and the cardinals sing.

It was there we came on Easter Day
And the jonquils nodded their heads so gay,
And we kindled a flame on our heartstone there
For the fog was chill in the mountain air.

But our hearts were warm with youth and love
Though the fog shut out the sun above.
And happiness dwelt in our first home there
As the firelight gleamed in your golden hair.

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 26, 1959. DEAR MR. AND MRS. RATLIFF: Words can't seem to express the many thoughts and sincere sympathy that are with you at this time.

WOMAN'S AUXILIARY,
CHURCH OF SAINT TIMOTHY.

JANUARY 27, 1959.

The officers and members of the Washington Heart Association gratefully acknowledge a contribution from his friends in the Agricultural Conservation Program Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Vellone (former neighbors), in memory of the Honorable GEORGE H. CHRISTOPHER toward the conquest of heart disease.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., January 25, 1959.

To the Family of the Hon. George H. Christopher:

May you find strength and courage

And understanding, too

In deeply sympathetic thoughts

This message brings to you.

We were married 50 years the 24th of December, and we received a congratulatory letter signed by your dear father. We were so surprised and so happy to receive it, and cherish it so muchwe wouldn't take anything for it.

He must have been a wonderful man, and we would have been pleased to have met him. When we read in our paper of him passing away we were so sorry.

Please accept our deepest sympathy and we pray that God will give you physical strength and spiritual power to carry you through your great sorrow.

May God bless and comfort you all.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. O. A. FELCH.

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 25, 1959.

DEAR MOINA AND RAY: My family and I wish to convey our deepest sympathy on the death of your father, the Honorable GEORGE H. CHRISTOPHER.

While our grief can never match yours, his passing meant a great loss to us also.

We came to know Mr. CHRISTOPHER Well as a neighbor and a friend and we're going to miss his kindness, wisdom, and ready wit every day of our lives.

I shall always remember especially those evenings when your father, relaxing on the patio after a strenuous day on the Hill, would hold us spellbound with his reminiscences of things past and his wise interpretation of things present and future. I'll never forget, either, the early morning coffee, which we all enjoyed so much. After his coffee and a restful night, your father could always face the day with high spirits and zest. His example was an inspiration to all who knew him and I'd like to think that I'm a better man for having known him and called him friend.

Again let us attempt to tell you how much we sympathize with you in your loss and to assure you that he is going to be missed by everyone as a fine legislator and a fine gentleman.

Sincerely,

CHARLES H. STEPHENSON AND FAMILY.

CLINTON, MO., January 30, 1959.

DEAR MOINA AND RAY: Two years ago tomorrow Pet (Mrs. Sperry) left. My sorrow was so deep that I felt that life would not be worth living. My sorrow now is just as deep, but I learned that I