The Globe-republican., 1894-03-30
Live for Others.

Live for Others.
IF any man have not the spirit OF
Christ he is none of his
Thus speaks the sanity Paul, and we
shall do we'll to look closely for the
precise meaning of SO important a pas
sage, True Christianity must be very
practical. We say must, because we are
so constituted that tout of the heart the
mouth speaksth, ''and '.as man thinketh
in his heart so is he," also, "where the
treasure is there will the heart be also. ="
1t is also theoretically, practically and
spiritually correct that ''if We walk in the
spirit we shall not fulfil the lusts of flesh, 4"
The heigth of Christian perfection is not
reached in rapturons Civilizations or &C.
static emotions, but more largely in the
outward manifestations of the indwell-
ing which is sure to be in every real
child of God. If our highest joy or
surest indication of deliverance from sin
rested in personal sense of peace and
comfort alone, God could and should ut
once take us to the skies or to some other
Safe place where combat with doubts,
and fears, and shrinking from the bear
ing duties would be unknown. But such
is not the case.
If the spirit of Christ be in the heart,
and this is necessarily true in every
genuine Christian, the outward life will
indicate it, both to the satisfaction of its
possessor and those who look upon him
or come in contact with him. BY the
term "spirit of Christ" we may under
stand to be meant, mind. disposition, or
inclination. So for any human being to
possess in degree the mind, disposition,
or inclination of Christ, is miracle
which may will call forth our admira-
ton, wonder and praise. Yet it should
be our highest jov and our most fruitful
source of satisfaction to be able to dis
cover in ourselves the prOmptings of a
spirit so unlike the former inclinatiOns as
to convince lis that it is none other than
the indwelling spirit of Christ. We are
not to rrjOic" il! ot.' coed works. for
even such as have never been born again
are able, and to some extent inclined.
to the doing of good work. Our salts
faction does not come from the perform
ance of any good work, but from the
disposition which prompts us to do the
work.
Christ taught US that it was more
blessed to give than to receive, and in
their unregenerate state all men wonder
| at that statement, but when once the
change is wrought, the secret is dis
closed.
More than half the real JOY of possess
| ion is lost if we have not learned TO give.
Christ gave himself for us. How familiar
is that blessed truth to the Christian
heart. But when Jesus comes 10 say: If
l EaYe laid down down my life for you
ye ought also to lay down your lives for
the BRETHREN" we do not seem to so
readily comprehend him. At least it
appears painfully evident that we are not
SO ready to accept this as the other. Yet
in the light of philosophical reasoning
it must be so. Examine yourselves
whether We be in the faith, prove your
own selves" This, every Christian may
intelligently DO. If we are disposed to
be little careful of our money when calls
are made for it to be expended for the
glory of God and the good of the world,
we may know assuredly that it is not the
spirit of Christ in us that leads us to hold
it back. Thousands of prOfessed Chris
tians are making mistakes of this char
acter. There is fearful lack right al
this point.
On no other one point in the Word OF
God is there given so many precious
promises to the faithful as in this respect.
There is a wonderful amount of en-
cOuragement along this line, and yet in
no one particular are God s,children more
delinquent. At some future time we may
bundle together some the wonderful
promises and warnings along these lines
and present them to the readers of thi:
paper, Meantime look them up, and may
God grant us more faith at this point, fol
we are sadly in need of it.
Evangelist Miller has announced that
L: 2. Cs,n6or