The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-25
A SIMPLE RELIGION,

Draw nigh to God, and He will draw
nigh to you. st. James, Tvs.
One need not think very profoundly
to find the necessity for a religion OF
some sort which will not only make
this life tolerable but also userul and
hopeful. sD .YIG 10 oRa
He who lives without definite pur-
pose achieves no higher end than to
serve as a warning to others. He is a
kind of bell buoy, mournfully tolled
by the waves of circumstance 10 mark
the rocks or shoals which are TO be
avoided.
What the sun glass does 10 the suns
rays-converge them until they be-
come blazing and irresistible point
that a definite purpose does to the en-
ergies of the soul. 1t brings them to
focus, and achievement follows as a
matter of course.
The principle holds equally with pur-
poses which are either good or bad.
Men who accomplish untold evil are
focused men just as truly as the mar
tyrS were who went to the stake for
truths sake. 1t requires as much en-
ergy to do colossal wrong as to do a
colossal good. The villain and the
saint are both men of perhaps equal
resources, giants in their different
ways.
There must therefore be something
behind the mere fact of energy If life
! is to be all it can be, and that some
thing is conservation. Religion furnish
es the highest aim which souls can
conceive, and plans a house for you
| to build in which you can live without
/ regret, honored on earth and approved
in heaven. Religion is consequently a
necessity.
| If 1 were to define religion l should
say it is the science of ideal develop
ment, and it's product is a character In
| which duty is the first thought, be-
! cause the soul has been kindled by 1re
| borrowed from the altar or God. The
revelation of this religion IN the New
| Testament is put in such simple anc
understandable terms that the world
has mystified and misunderstood 1t
We have persistently declared thai
| there must be an occult element IN II
which does not appear on the surface
and theologians have mistaken theil
own surmises for the thoughts OF
| Christ, and so put religion at such a
| distance from the common intelligence
that it has lost it's practical usefulness
| The mission Of Christ was to fix a
i beacon light amid the shadows of the
| present and the future, and to assure
! us that if we walk steadily IN that oil,
| rection we shall find peace and rest
for today. and heaven for tomorrow
! His religion consists of a conscious
harmony between the soul and the
! souls creator, nothing more and noth-
/ ing less.
Everything in the universe is rellg-
! ious by the sweet compulsion OF Goa
will except man. He alone can be
wanderer., Stars and clouds, the trees
| of the forest the flowers of the held
| the seed which the farmer sows, anu
/ the sunshine and dew, whose mage
| brings the autumn crop, are all work
ing with purpose. They have a duty
to fulfill. and they do 1t. All nature
| consists of multitude OF laws, when
| like so many intelligent beings, are
| cheerfully doing the work which the
Infinite Being gave into their charge
1t is this fact which makes the Wo OH
| such beautiful place to live In; me
| unseen violet is as happy In It's on
security as the bird which chirps in tne
branches above 1t. If we had ears u
hear we should discover that eacn
particle of the universe is singing IL
note in the great gamut of universe
| life, and each little voice swells tne
| general chorus of praise to Him VIM
seeks the happiness of animate ana ~ ~,
! animate through obedience to His VII.
If man would be as happy as tle
! rest of the world he, too, must pe
| obedient. Dishonesty and self-seeklhs
are injurious because they are discoras.
/ Who seeks the welfare of others liiius
| his own at the same time. and ne VIZ
beStowS reapS more than he has soWgu'
The secret is to give, not to get. i ne
rose gives its perfume, the wheat neiu