The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-09-05

has found God in proportion az il has
found true manhood, and even as God has
sent divine men the world has come
closer to the knowledge OF God. Men
of God they have been, but who is the
Man OF God, the real man, the God
MANI And Moses said, TT is not l."
Elijah said at is not l." David,
Isaiah, the long line OF prophets ending
in John the Baptist, cried each, at is
not l." "But behold there cometh
after me one mightier than |, the
latchet of whose shoes / am unworthy
to unloose." That is the message of
Messianic prophecy. The heart cries,
"Show me the real man that l may
know the true Godl' and with out
stretched hand the prophets point down
the ages into the future to the shadowy
figure of the distant Christ and sing ex-
ultantly, "Lo, he cometh, the Man of
God!"
My friends, what is the important
thing for you and me? Is it that we
should be able to state in exact terms
the metaphysical relations between this
man and God? Or is it that, recognize
ing in Him what true manhood is, we
should carve our lives into His like
nessp We. are created in the image of
God, though the image has lost its out
lines in our souls. Would you know
God? Then look not at his blurred,
imperfect image in your own soul, but
at this shining, perfect image in the
soul OF Christ. The character of God
1t shines in all of Jesus acts, breathes
in all his words-glorifies his life. Truth,
righteousness, beauty, goodness: these
are the essentials OF true character, COM
mon to God and man. You have some
faint love of these in your heart. Would
yon love them morep Would you your
self become more true, more right,
more beautiful, more good? Then know
Christ, love Christ, follow Christ, for in
Him these are complete. "It pleased
the Father that in him should all the
fulness dwell" "And this is life
eternal, that men should know Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom Thou hast sent" speak to men
and women in whose hearts is the i'm
age of God, yet in whose hearts also is
the spirit of selfshness, of meanness and
of sin. On which side do you take your
stand? With which power do you ally
yourself ? There is no one here who
does not prefer the side OF truth and
right, Of beauty and goodness, the side
of God and Christ. There is no one
selishness, even as | speak, and long
for goodness. Then by the blurred
image of God within your souls, by the
love that you really feel for the noble
and the true, by the hope that you
entertain OF growing better and
stronger, and purer, l adjure you to
chose Christ.
Christ the real man, the revel-
alton OF the character of God. Do you
need more than that? To know real
manhood-what we may and must be-
come, to know real Godhood-what
God is, and what his disposition to-
wards us. Are not these the deep
needs OF the soul? And the explanation
OF these successive revelations, the
source from which they have flowed,
the creative power that caused them, is
just that fact for which the life OF
Christ most clearly stands, the love OF
God for the world "For God so loved
the world that he gave his only be-
gotten son, that whatsoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have evers
lasting life."
This explains it all. The supreme
reason is also supreme love. The
worlds at school to God. God teaches
the world his lessons OF truth and
righteousness and goodness. See them
objectified in Christ Are you learning
these lessons OF Godp