The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-04-25
Rev. Dunlap at Plymouth.

Rev. Samuel 4. Dunlap, OF SprlnQfield,
o.. preached at Plymouth Church yester-
day morning and evening.
He gave as his text the words of st.
James: Il am the true vine and my Father
Is the husbandman. Abide In ne and l in
you" He said that James had been called
the apostle of good works, Paul the apostle
OF faith. Both were much nearer to one
another than they have commonly been
supposed to be. AS truly as they have been
called by these names has Jesus been called
the apostle of life. If He seemed to have
less faith in rules and regulations lie had
more faith in the fertility of the great vine
and more IN what was to be ACCOMPLISHED
In this world. Religion. when reduced to
Its lowest terms Is God manifesting Him.
self in and by means of His human chill
dren. IL was IN some such sense that
Jesus Called himself the way and the
life. Religion. as promulgated by
Christ. Is more than a philosophy.
a science. a system of ethics-more
than q mode OF government by
rewards and punishments. though il is also
all of these. 1t is prominently Durer life
and ever-increasing ~abundancy OF being
coming into us as branches from our father
vine. Religion is simple and also nobly
mystical. Religion is not q theory, but q
fact plain as q blade OF grass or u flower.
IL we begin TO theorize upon religion as the
life OF God IN man or the same life In the
flower We enter the solemn grandeur of
mystery. Put on your speculative eyes.
and, thus viewing religion III your heart
and the rose in your window you Will dis
cover religion in the rose has n further life
that reaches of into infinity. These lives
in you and in the rose minRle before they
pass hey nd the range of human vision.
Ii was not so much to help US TO under
stand as TO help US to get life that Jesus
came. He announces himself rs u DDS fore
runner, helping US to lind ourselves truly
living In our Father, helping us to trace
our lineage into the central life In God.
Practically. Jesus made himself very
plain. familiar and at the same
time wonderful. lie showed himself to be
very much alive. The power of God has
been SO long visible In every way that men
have always believed God TO be victorious.
The special need of men, therefore. was to
see a VICTORIOUS man-to see IN Jesus what
manhood may become when il has attained
Its majority, Its f~ullnsss. In His experience
be mGnIfests life as running. Astounding
and glorifying itself in its human flesh.
Men merely looking ut Him would have
heard the wordless eloquence of life in Hin.
This life Will remove lethargy or general
Observation-Disclosures. Evil Is destructive
enough In Its active and aggressive forms.
but II Is far more destructive in its inactive
and passive forms. Nexation and worry
destroy thousands, but lethargy destroys
its ten Thousands. Belli gerent ipfidelity is
rare as Bengal tigers in American forests.
II aggressive IniidelI.y has destroyed n few,
Indifference has destroyed a vast multitude.
W bile In every community you can pick out
a handful who are monsters of lniquity
Observation-Disclosures is at the bottom of
more failures than is ~Viciousness. While
yOu occasionally meet q man who suffers
from not sleeping well. you meet thonsan4s
who sntfer from sleeping too well. and by
sleep lose nearly all there is in life. Leth-
argy of mean spirit, indifference and slack
hess are all going by reason of this vine-
sent power. Some may say. grant that the
world would cease To slnmber and become
more alive. can life destroy SIN in the or
binary sense of the termf We say. yes.
10 illustrate. Any practical farmer who
destroys weeds Will say one way is TO pull
them mp. another Is To pillow them under.
another TO NOW them down. But the best
way. he will say. IL TO SOW grass-seed. and.
by and by, the land will become clean.
me abundant life certainly Ia tho best for
unbelIef and whining pessimism.
fiants thoroughly alive always look
toward tho SUI gleefuuy. So men and