Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-31

| have become accustomed to his way Of
! teaching so that his truth, though we may
| not have learned the whole of it, makes less
| impression upon us. Thus the parish grows
weary OF the parson.
God is always changing our instructors
| He teaches US by the lips of men who have
| their day, and give their message, and for
| an hour take the great class of the race, and
| then the bell rings and the teachers time
is done. The philosophers, the saints, the
| preachers, the poets, the politicians, the
| soldiers take their turn at teaching us
And "God fulflls himself in,many ways
lest one good custom should corrupt the
world" 8 81 ~
Could Not Understand His r sturn.
It may be that Jesus felt that the apostles
had been taught long enough In the lessons
of his visible presence, and that 1t would
be e1pedient to teach them now in the
different lessons of his invisible presence.
For Christ is the .pre-emineut teacher.
There is no danger that We will ever grow
weary of Christ, nor is their any likelihood
that we will learn the whole of the truth of
Christ. But Christ, knowing our need of
change, changes his ways Of teaching. It
Is true that he said that he was going away,
but he said also that he was coming back
again.
GA little WHILE" he promised them, land
We shall see me, because I 60 to the
Father" They could not undsrstsnd that,
but they came to know by and by that 1t
was Christ's assurance of continual and
| never-ending abiding with them. He went
away that he might return in another form,
and thencetorth be closer to them than ever.
The Comforter then, whom we call the
Holy Ghost, is really the abiding Christ;
the Spirit is the spirit of Jesus. The as
cension was the beginning of new and
better way of spiritual teaching. We can
see that, in this sense, it was expedient for
US that he should 60 away.
Faith Is Better Than Sight,
We know also that there is difference
T, between faith aud sight Faith is better
| than sight because thou hast seen me
thou hast believed" Christ said to Thomas:
"Blessed are they that have not seen and
yet have believed" Faith is better
than sight, because it is rarer, and
more difficult, and depends upon
the action of higher faculties of our nature.
1t is different from sight very much as writ
ing poetry is different from saving wood.
| Anybody with fair measure of strength of
BODY can saw wood. And anybody with
| ewes can see. Sight does not depend on
wisdom. But brain and heart 60 to the
making of poem. And brain and
heart are needed in the right recitation of q
creed. Sight is the recognizing Of the out
side of the visible part of an event. Christ
heals the sick, and all who stand about Him
see the miracle, and thus have sight: But
| they who have faith see Christ, and have
no need of miracle to point Him out, nor
to tell them that He is wise, that He is
| wonderful, that He is divine. Faith is the
| recognition of Christ without the help of
| sight at all To-day, though the face and
| form of Jesus are altogether invisible, the
believer, absolutely without glimmer Of
sight, recognizes Him, put his faith in Him
| and loves Him.
Depends on Spiritual Faculties.
Sight is recognition of the face; faith is
| a recognition of the heart The highest
kind Of recognition is the recognition of
| personality. OF character, of the real self, Of
the heart. And that depends on spiritual
faculties To know good man when we
| meet him is an achievement which cannot
| be accomplished unless we have some de-
| gree of spiritual kinship with him. Only
| the good can really know the good. Faith,
| accordingly, depends on character, and
therein is immeasurably superior to sight,
which depends ON nothing but good eyes.
Thus Christ went out of the sight OF His
disciples that they might have opportunity
for the exercise Of the highest kind Of faith.
| We can see that, In this sense also, II was
expedient for us that He should 60 away.
These two advantages of Christ's ascension
the change from visible to an invisible
teacher and from sight to faith, are still
| further realized when we understand that
| the ascension made universally possible
| and infallibility impossible in Christ's re-
| ligion. So long as Jesus walked and taught
| in visible form in Galilee the Christian re-
| ligion was localized. 1t was centered where
Ge stood. During His ministry His teaching
never reached beyond the boundaries OF
| Syria. 1t was only after the ascension that
the disciples went out, at his command. to
teach all nations
The Localization Of Worship.
He set himself, indeed, against the locali-
! zation OF worship. He told the Samaritan
| woman that neither in Samaria nor in Judes
was the nearest place Of approach to God,
] but that God is spirit, and whoever any.