The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-05-06
DISCOVERY or THE INDIVIDUAL

am to speak to YOU tonight about The
Discovery of the Individual" Let me Ia
,rodnce what have to say with an incident
from the Bible. In Matthew. TX, ., l read;
las Jesus passed forth from thence. he saw
a man."
Jesus has come without the city limits OF
Capernaum. the town of His adoption. and
is walking along the seashore. The limpid
lake mirrors His form In It's crystal depths
The fresh breeze from across this sen of
the hills fans His brow and rcfreshos the
worlds Redcomcr who has been so busy
blessing others az to forget himself Down
there at the customs gate some one Is SIT
ting collecting taxes and receiving toll
Nav be 1t III the tax levied by the Roman
government. Perhaps 1t ~ the revenue
collected from the fishing craft perchance
II is tho fare over the ferry. AT any rate
those two moct-Jesus and Matthew, the
Savior and the publican-and this verse liz
the brief record OF their first contact:
''As Jesus passed form thence lie saw a
man named Matthew sitting at the receipt
of custom"
The crowd pressing about Christ and JOS
Ting one another In their selfish cagerness
10 reach the Sayi0rs side saw something
else as they looked at Matthew. Some OF
them saw a tax Ratberer ana stunned him,
others saw an officer OF the Roman law
and feared him: others stu saw we'll
o-do citizen and cDvled him; sim Others
saw "A covotous. avaricious, money Better
who priced shekols above PATRIOTISM, and
they dospised him; but Jesus saw man,
and loved him Tho others saw only the
outside the shell. the crust. but Christs
eagle glance pierced through externals and
exterior. and ho saw the man himself. HIS
business was unpopular, bis passions ana
practices pcrhaps were base and selfish.
but behind all these was Matthew himself.
n man with II body and soul, with head
and heart. with feelings and aspirations and
all that Is human and destined 10 be I'M
mortal: and Jesus saw that lie discovered
the individual. and Jesus. the Savior OF
Men. said 10 Matthew. the man: Follow
me-" and he arose and followed him.
The discovery OF the individual! That
WAS a bigger event than the discovery OF
America II was greater epoch than the
enforcement OF Christianity by ConBtap-
tine as the religion of world empire. II
was u holicr hour for the world than the
day Luther nailed his theses upon the
church door IN Wittenberg. 1t was Sc
raphic instant crowded with moro precious
blessing for humanity than were all those
months during which the Westminster d.
vines eogitated theology and formulated
dogma. For after all. what DO our views
and creeds. our symbols ana tenetb hmow'
to IL beyond them we fail 10 rediscover the
immortal God -imaged man on whom lhcy
impinge, In whose personal character they
are 10 find Incarnation. and without the
enrichment OF whose life-energy and heart-
love. they are but sapless husk. The land
icg place is always bit higher than the
steps by which We reach H. The goal u
always creator than all the means and
methods OF it's attainment; and man MN
self Ia greater than all his things. and more
precious than any thought he ever thinks
or any deed he ever does. and grander than
any dogma to which he may ever nuke
subscription.
Man himself. not something about nun,
ia the Integral unit which determines the
value OF everything else beneath the skies,
and there Is no finer hour for any OF us
than the moment when grace brings US 10
The side OF the Son Of God. until standing
there for an instant In the circle OF that
light created by the radiance OF HIS ewn
blessed person. Jesus does for us Just what
lie did for Matthew at the lake side 80
long ago--Ho looks through externals and
exterior and sees the man aud makes the
discovery of the Individual
There are four distinct lines OF thought
inlo which this theme unfolds:
Cbrjstianity--and am using the word
now in its narrower sense for the gospel ~