The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-09-20

! Ihat IS, Il we want God to give Him
self TO Us. We must give ourselves in
holy service TO others
I Dr.. a c. Dixon pictures the reflection
/ CT the sun on the ocean; the great waves
mirror it perfectly But if you go to
Ia quiet mountain lake. you see TIE same
sun reflected from its shallow water;
and If you gaze into mountain spring
( only six inches IN diameter you see the
same sun. an5 If you look into dew
/ drop. stiJ- % <.Ine sun looks back al
you. and al. O. il is imaged there So il
/ is with the presence of God in the soul.
/ That presence does not depend or the
/ greatness o. the soul Any one. what
/ ever his capacity. may = filed with all
/ the fullness Of God.
/ Webb-Peploe declares that no one will
! ever POSSESS any more of Christ than he
claims as MS Owl. II he asks for
half Christ, ne viii get a half-Christ;
but Il he seeks the fulIness of God, which
/ is the fu1Iness OF Christ. that is what
| he win receive
Luther once quoted the words Of
Isaiah, who said that the heavens are
the throne Of God AMI the earth is His
did not say that either heaven or earth
Is the abode OF God. because God, for
whom all heaven and earth are not a fit
{ dwelling place has His abode IL the
obedienC heart Of man For Christ said,
IF any man love ne, ne viii keep my
words, and we viii make our abode With
him.
DisraeH once said that The man who
does not look up. viii look down. and
the spirit that does not dare TO soar is
destined. perhaps. to grcvel" Nothing
viii exalt life like . lofty ambition,
and no aim can possibly be so. lofty as
the ambition to be filled with God
Fill pail with apples You can still
pour in water So II is that a life Lay
be full of graces, and yet have room for
new graces- But I'll 2 pail with apples,
and you cannot put in lot Of stones
So II Is that, when a life s. filed with
the fuIlness OF God. * has no room for
evil. And if il contains evil. il cannot
receive the fullness Of God. AS soon as
Judas let N Satan. Christ withdrew.
We are not TO think that this receiv-
ing Gods fullness is something tC be
done once for all To be sure, we give
ourselves TO God once for all, but the
Spirit must be renewed day by cay.
Every hour, every minute, we need 10
pray for Gods fullness TO enter and con-
t-oL
Cod is ready 10 come into mans Ifs
with all His divine power and beau:.
How infnitesimally little is man. and
how infinitely great is God And yet
there is one great thing that man can
do-he can invite God in; and until he
does this. not even God can come in
To receive into our souls the fuUness
Of God and retain that marvellous in
dwelling. We need the constant aid Of the
Holy Spirit Of God himself Ian Mac
Iaren compares the soul 10 a sensitive
film, and the Christ OF the New Tesla
Laent to some vision OF loneliness which
We wish to photograph upon our souls.
There can be no photograph without the
light, and the light is the Holy Spirit Of
God. who comes 70 bring all truth to
men.
Tennyson once wrote. My most pas
sionate desire is for a clearer and fuller
vision Of God" No one can have this
vision until 81 becomes more than a
willingness, Il must be a desire: and
more than a languid desire, it must be
= passionate desire.
Plants that are small and sh-iveled 4
the arctic zone. or even il the temper
ate, become large and luxuriant when
they are transferred to the tropics. This
change is TO be noticed in everything
trees. fowerc, fruit, and even animals
Now our life IN this world is like life in
an arctic regiCG. We have a thousand
hindrances to check our growth But in
heaven there viii be nc hfndraucps One
OF the happiesf thoughts than eau come
TO the mind of the Christian is 10 think
what he may become under the sunny
skies Of paradise
No one pities a rosebush when il
blooms No one pities bird when Il
sings. And so no one should pity a
soul when 1t gives itself to God, even
though this surrender keeps a man from
doing other things and getting other
things Man vas made for this-to give
himself to God. just as the rose was
made for blooming and the bird for
singing. II is the crown Of his life.