The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-30
ELOQUENT SERMON
 BY REV. MOONEY
Continued from Fifth Paee).

his past efforts were spent in the wrong direction; that all his past ambitions were directed toward the wrong goal; that all his past plans had actually impeded the cause of righteousness. He must now be- gin life over if the real life is ever to be lived at all.
 Yet a true vision of Jesus Christ means just this to every life. It means the fail ure of our best efforts apart from God. | That is, failure as far as gaining strength | for duty and temptation and as far as living a life which shall help others to- ward the highest manhood and woman hood
 The followers of Christ of that day must have been saddened as they saw Paul giving all the splendid energies of his life. not for the glory of God, but for the glory of self and thus absolutely wasting it so far as life and character were con- eerned. And so it saddens the true heart today 10 see a man naturally attractive and gifted give the best of his life and activities towards the qualification of the material and the selfish.
 Life's Possibilities in Christ.
 But we come now to the very sunburst of Paurs vision. It was a vision to him of lifes possibilities in Christ. As he was lying prostrate on the ground weighed down by a crushing sense of
 
 need of the Christ he had persecuted God said to him, Arise. stand upon thy feet l have purposed that thou shalt be a minister both of the things thou hast seen and that thou shalt see through me. What a glorious thing life must have seemed at that moment to the Apostle Paul Liberated from sin by Jesus Christ life's possibilities with God behind them, could sweep on to their very crest. In that elective moment, living In the rare atmosphere of the heavenly, he could see with intense vividness what his life could be as a Christian. And the most glorious thing about this vision in Paurs experi- ence was the fact that he afterwards made it real in his life
 What about the wonderful possibilities of your life and mine? Have you ever realized them? If not why not? Surely not because you haven't had them. Maybe the last vision which you had from God is only a memory now; and yet how 1t dazzled you at the time. and how it stirred up all the elements of your better self! Did you say, oh, 1t Is splendid, so splendid and yet I can never live 1t? Well. l want to say to you here this morning, that you can live it if you will use the power living Christ can give you
 Lifes supremest tragedy is this: to see lilt poSSlbllllltS. 10 nave d capacity to become a powerful soul, and then turn your back upon it and go back to the old narrow life.
 PauPs Treatment of Vision.
 How did Paul treat this vision of God 10 his soul? Did he defy God and tell him that notwithstanding this revelation he intended to live as he always lived Did he say the vision is magnificent, but Il can never become part of my life? Did he take the vision in his heart for time and let it fade away? No, Paul was obedient to the vision which God sent to his heart. How have you treated the vision of God which by experience and by providence breaks into your life? What was the effect of this wonderful vision on Pauls life? II Is hardly neces- sary for me to tell you But we know this much. that his life was radically changed, that his character became trans 1 formed. Instead of the old bigotry there l sprang into being a world wide charity. ] instead of the old narrowness there came a great breadth of life; instead of inc l thirst for blood there came thirst for l perishing souls; instead of perseeutins Q l Christ 1t became the dream of his life tn l glorify Him.
 l And this is but the effect that this | vision and the hearts obedience to if has on every life. You can be holy you can be heroic faithful patient. strone 1 Christlike. If you only will May God give us all the grace to will!