The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-09-08

tlOl uIlu llNlllS OIlS h IIdcllOu or LHelT real eXistence-lives that we know could be great and do great things, ex- pressing only that which is the least worthy and of least belongs to a child of God.
 My friends, the divine and noble that is in us all can only be called into per petual active, energizing being, by the touch of some high cause that shall be ever present, some ideal that shall be ever glowing and ever seen, some rich personality that shall be ever near us, our continual admiration; some divine spirit that shall ever guard the sacred undylng fires. If we could only gather up all these high inspiring things into one ever present cause so that young men and women should ever see and feel 1t calling them to noblest action and awaking them to larger life! Bet ter still, If we could only embody all these things in some great rich divine personality who should live intensely and in ever growing reality through all the ages, who should gather up into himself all great causes, ideals and mo- tives; so that we might ever hear them calling our truest selves to action. Might we not then respond and might not all that is within be awakened into fullest life? This is what we need, and this Is what we have In Christ And this is the meaning of his presence in the world-the highest ever with us touching our lives and awakening the highest there-and the fact that the heart of man can and does respond to the highest is the seal of its divine na- ture 1 like to think of Christ in this way-the embodiment in personality of all highest things-the source of all that is pure and lovely. Was there ever such model heroism as was in him? Was there ever more outgoing sacrificing love? Such ideal service? Yes, all high inspiring things of earth gather themselves into his nature. Just as all the heat of coal, the light of lamp, the azure of the sky, the golden glow of sunset the soft twining of flowers, the flash of gem and gleam of tropic birds all come from one great source, the sun, and are part of it's light, so all differing high causes and qualities of earth are but varying ex- pressions of Him who Is the light of life
 So this is the great truth after all- that if we would have the best there is within us called into continuous being, II We would fulfil the plan and pattern of our lives, if we would grow into its rich completion, we must let the high est there is enter in and take possess sion of us and we must give ourselves unto him, because he stands for all that is true and real
 See how plain 1t was in the lives of the first disciples, Take John, for h. stance. for his life is the perfect pie ture of the operation of this truth. He was fisherman by the shore of Gali- lee. Probably he had never given much thought to anything outside of his daily work-the lowering and haul ing of the nets. His friends never thought of him as being any deeper or of having any more capacity than the hundreds of fishermen who lived by Galilee. As we said last Sunday, he never thought of himself as ever be- coming other than he was and never dreamed of the man he some time was to be- But the Christ who sees men in all their possibility, sees with pro- phetic vision the true man yet to be; he calls this fisherman to follow him. John, irresistably drawn by the person. ality of this Man, as we all are when once we truly hear that call, dropped his nets and followed him. He soon sees He is the highest and gives himself to Him in eternal consecration and lets his new Master touch and mould his life. And then see the miracle, the wondrous change! In two years John the fisherman, the apparently common est of men, has become John the apos- tie, the poet the preacher, the best be- loved of the Saviour the one who leaned upon his breast and knew the mind of Christ. And John the fisher man dies the author of the most in- spired books the world contains. My friends the divine was all there in the gem; 1t was Just awaiting the touch of the divine to kindle the undying fire
 He gave himself unto the highest and the highest made John like unto itself. So it was with Paul with Augustine, with all true Christians both great and lowly, since that day.
 The soul of man responds to the touch of Christ as the viol to the bow, and its divinest response cannot be elcited by any lesser power It will give forth its sweetest music only to him who knows it's depth of resource and can touch the heart chords as the Master Suppose there was a violin lying here--a perfect, beautiful instru- ment. It is full of wonderful songs and harmonies. The wood came from the mountain side and grew up among years but only shallow souls have touched it. They have drawn from it only shallowest music But some day master comes along, a man of deep nature, and one who knows what dwells within its long sealed heart, and the instant his hand touches the strings with the bow a throb goes through the viol and 1t knows that here is one can call out all it has of beauty and it responds, unburdens it's soul to him, it's heart opened by his un- derstanding touch, and he draws from it exquisite music-like music heard in dreams It sings to him all the old music it learned on the mountain side the signing of trees, the murmuring of brooks, the joyous notes of birds, the soft hum of bees and the moaning of winds. Out of its heart come strange celestial melodies.
 We never knew such music was there," we say. No. But the master