Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-01-29
ENTHUSIASM IN RELIGION.

|
1t is good to be zealously affected always in
a good thing.-Ga1atians, w., 10.
There are two facts which every
careful observer must have noticed.
The first is that Satan is an en-
thusiast. His interest in his work
never flags; his vital energy is always
at high pressure, and the attractive
ness of wrong doing is urged with an
eloq uence full of deadly zeal. He is
not simply industrious, for he labors
with unceasing delight in the task he
has set himself.
The second is that those whose mis-
| sion is to direct us to heaven 90 SO |
with a listless air, as though it were
not of much consequence whether we
reach that destination or not. Ii an
angel from the New Jerusalem were to
visit us he would be greatly astonished
to find that religion is kept in refrl
gerator. while temptations are always
served hot.
And yet what is there within the
! boundless realm of possible truth that
is better calculated to rouse the EN-
thusiasm of mankind than simple
and recreating religion? do not refer
to the creeds, for they only serve to
enmesh and entangle the sonl, but to
those spiritual principles which every
one can understand and on which
every one can build house that no
storm can shake.
/ Take. for example, the careless reiter-
ated statement that you can live IN
close and intimate relations with God
relations SC close that He becomes
literally part of yourself and throws
the shadow of His protecting presence
over you. If for the first time that
thought should enter your mind. you
!. would be ablaze with excitement. 1t
would kindle the zeal which conquers
e all things and stir the soul in its pro
foundest depths.
You cannot hold such relations with
God without becoming God-like, and
there is no limit to what you may do
!, or may become when His life enters by
the smallest conceivable fraction into
;, your life, for if His will is your will
q also, then to certain extent His
power is yours. That which is merely
worldly will drop like the frost bitten
% leaves Of autumn and you will take on
/ something of the divinity of Christ.
who has told US in plain terms that
greater things than these shall ye do
when the spirit of earth gives way to
. the spiritof heaven.
10 Strange things will happen to man
who realizes the fact that faith in God
is a miracle worker. Even the physlc-
al system will feel it's effects, and half
J, the diseases which drag us at their
chariot wheels will disappear. The
Is mind largely controls the body, and
when the mind is restful and reposeful
every nerve feels tranquillizing in
\ fiuence. Our maladies are the result
~ either of broken laws on our part OF
le on the part of those from whom we
have inherited The race should be
" healthy and vigorous, and if it is not
so some one on the earth, but no one
in heaven, is at fault. A life that is
- close to God permeates the body with
a strong tendency to health, is physic
ally recuperative, and leads us ever
IS toward the highest standard of bodily
excellence.
u We must not forget that with the
A Christ disease was impossible. because
the body took on the complexion OF
mind and heart, and the nearer we are
e. to Christ the nearer we are to health.
Then think of the mental results Of
searching for and finding God in every
r thing, of feeling that SO far as your
eyes will permit you have the same
outlook as the angels! Think OF the
D. happiness which he must enjoy who
can honestly say; "God first; His pur
poses first; His will first, and as fol-
myself, will be literally buried in that
will and in those purposes!"
At present we live at such distance
IF from Him that He seems little more
than a myth or a grand and bound
= less possibility. We pass our time in a
q befogment of petty aims, of selfish de
o sires, of small pleasures and excite
| nr,fu 11C nd h n
% and foot by the twisted cord of pas
If sions and indulgences unworthy of be-
, ings whose destiny outspans the pres
n ent and grasps eternity. We are bar
- assed not only by unavoidable but also
n by avOldable cares and worries. There
is no spiritual quiescence in US. and
a the power which comes from repOse is
II unknown to us. The region of serene
If submission, of unquestioning faith, has
OF yet been explored. When the
! world becomes unworldly, when we
- realize the fact that we are children
and that we have a Father, we shall
"a become miracle workers, and the great
est miracle of all will be the change in
>, ourselves.
10 With these thoughts in your heart
# you may do all things and bear al
n things. Even your poverty will be
" enriched, for poverty ceases to be a
burden when contentment and love sit
10 side by side. The daily task will be
frightened by that interior light which
is better than the light of the sun
Yes, and the SORROWS of life will have
their cheer, for what God thinks il
10 best for rs we can endure. Life will
~ be only a pathway to heaven, and the
future will be illumined by the thought
that those who have gone are waiting
to bid us good morning on the further
d shore. A religion of that kind, with
n Gods hand moulding events and with
=? heaven close to us, ought to rouse the
10 man soul is capable.
til GEARGE 81 HEPW0RTH