The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-10
VOICE OF THE PULPIT
GREATNESS Is DECLARED TO BE
WITHIN EVERY ONES GRASP.
Greenwich. o., Tells OF One Pos .
sibiIity Open to All Men.
doth not yet appear what we shall be-"


bosom OF every man and woman.
No merely finite mind can comprehend the
height 10 which the soul can rise; nor the
depths 10 which IL can fal. Judas and John,
perhaps. represent the two extreme possibili-
ties Of human experience; the former sinking
himself into moral and spiritual darkness;
the latter soaring on the wings Of an eagle
10 bathe himself in eternal ethereal light
When Judas was youth ne would have
spurned the idea that he would betray his
best friend. and die by his own hand. And
yet the possibility was there
At one time Benedict Arnold would have
considered the insinuation that he would
betray his country burning insult. And
yet the possibility was in his own breast.
Not that these men needed to become what
they became-within their own bosoms lay
other possibilities, which, had they been
awakened, would have made their lives as
honored as those OF the most honored sons
or men.
There comes the question, "What is great
ness%' We sometimes speak OF military
greatness. Of literary greatness, the great
ness OF craftsmanship. the greatness OF COM
mercial life. While In a sense these various
activities are all great, no one will claim
that they Of the same grade and quality
Alexander. Caesar. Washington and Grant
were great military leaders; yet there is
difference between them. The former fought
not always from the purest motives; the
latter fought for freedom and the preserva-
ton OF the Union. The same is true of
scholarship. The may be destructive;
the other constructive, as we'll as productive
OF much good
While we would not take one iota from the
fame and honor and the greatness these men
have achieved, it is nevertheless true that
the greatness which is really worth having
is not in the mere attainment OF military
literary, political and commercial greatness.
Men have reached the very pinnacle of great
ness in these things AMI lost the real and
abiding things which go to make ones char
acter truly great. II the possibility of great
ness lay only in the planning and fighting
great battles; If greatness lay in the at
tainment OF deep and profound scholarship;
II it lay in wise and willy statecraft, II it
lay in the organizing and carrying out of
great and important business enterprises,
very few would ever come within reach Of
these elements OF greatness. But, true and
lasting greatness does not wholly consist in
these things.
What, then, do we mean by greatness? We
answer: 1t lies within the power of every
to make his life one which will be
great in its motives. great in its aims and
purposes. great in its workings and. finally,
great in its elimination. The possibility of
having high and lofty ideals, OF having pure
and holy r.otives, of living life in accord
ance with the divine ideal OF uprightness
and virtue lies within the reach of every
one. and In this consists a greatness which
is more to be sought than the-greatness men
have often sought for in the past This pos
sibility is open to all men. The poorest as
richest oil q he
highest. the uncultured as well as the cul-
tured. the unlettered well as the lettered,
all have the same possibility open to them
In this thing can all be great men and
women.
Look into the lives OF the men whom the
world considers really great, and you will
find. II l mistake not, that back of all their
mighty deeds lay somethirg-an undefinable
substance-which gave to their life and char
acter that charm which, in the end, made
them great in the eyes of their fellow-men,
rather than their achievements. While in a
measure a mans greatness depends on what
he does. it is nevertheless true that what he
does depends on what he is man cannot
do great and lofty deeds; man cannot do
pure and noble things unless he is filled
with high and pure motives, and full OF
those great and exalted purposes which fill
the mind OF God.
The greatest man." said Charming, "is
he who chooses the right with invincible
resolution; who resists the sorest tempta-
tions from within and without; who bears
the heaviest burdens cheerfully: who is the
calmest in storms. and whose reliance on
truth, on virtue, on God, is most unfalter-
ing
If we may speak of greatness in connec-
ton with the life of Christ. is il not that
greatness lies in his choosing OF right with
invincibe firmness, in his resisting the sorest
temptations. in his becoming the bearer of
the heaviest burdens in the most uncom-
planning manner. in his caImness in the Sc
we're storms of life. in his reliance truth,
virtue and on God?
The same is true OF all truly great men.
Paul. Luther. Savonarola. and others who
became great in life and character, became
so because OF these essential qualities of
true moral greatness. 1t will be thus with
us. In our souls lie siumbering the great
forces OF truth and righteousness. which. If
awakened and given control Of the reins of
our soul and heart, will lead us into the
way of true and lasting greatness. I'VE must
acquire the habits OF greatness. He alone is
great who has formed the habits of great
ness. who, after performing what not one in
ten thousand could accomplish. passes on
nor his mother Of it."
That there is room in this world for such
men will be readily seen. There is crying
need for men who have patterned their
lives according 70 the divine model. No mat
ter what may be our theological bias. we
will admit that the Christ life was the only
perfect enc ever lived on earth. His defini-
ticn Of greatness is in the end the only cor
rect one. II can be given in single word:
Service Let him who would be great. be as
a servant. Incorporate that one great prin-
ciple of loving obedience 20 God, of loving
self-sacrifice 10 your fellows. into our life
and character and we are on the sure road
10 lasting greatness.
The men who have followed this precept
have their names engraven upon the indie
structibe scroll of human hearts; those who
sought greatness IN another way have
been, or viii be, forgotten as the days pass
by.
This is the one great possibility that lies
open to all men. There is nothing more I'M
portant than the great avenues that nave
been opened TO US along the line OF becoming