The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-11-15
A Sermon
For Today
by Rev. Bruce Grimth)


and 20 save that which was lost."-Luke
1910
In these words Of Jesus we have our
conception of his mission In them too.
is summed I'D the spirit Of the entire re-
ugious teaching Of the Bible. Mans re-
Igious life is chiefly determined by his
conception OF GOD. Given 4 noble concep-
ton OF God and a people rise TO nobIer
Flames. Given a base conception Of God
and men fail to q lower level Though
Christianity and Judaism have much n
common-with other OF the great wcr q
religions. yet their conception Of God
from the earliest writings of the Old
Testament TO the latest teachings Of the
New Testament represent the noblest.
purest. grandest conceptions of God that
has ever been given 10 the world
In Judaism as in Christianity God IS
set forth as a seeking Coda father seek
ing his children in the categorical pic
! lures Of Genesis God seeks his son in the
cool OF the evening. 1t was a new idea
in the oriental lands. The eastern mind
almost always put God in high heay-
en-. only TO be reached by man climbing
up TO his high seat. The story OF Babel
! represents the oriental iiea-man building
up to God. The Hebrew icea Is represent
cd in the story by the statement that. as
, men sought 10 build up 10 him, Gcd came
down to the plant and smote their de
| signs. What is the religious truth Of that
old story? \ coming-down God. de-
scending God. God not sitting above in
indifference but sympatnizing and com
ing down and seeking God. Hence the
oriental in his failure TO rise unaided 10
the touch and the plane OF God falls back
into fatalism But the Hebrew and Chris
| tian conception finds God coming down
to mans plane and touching man and
helping man and seeking and lifting man;
as it were, walking WITH man as he
struggles up the cftimes rough and stony
path Of human life
Most eruphatically is this true OF the
New Testament CONCEPTION OF God. IN
the person Of Jesus We see the seeking
to save truth. His ministry began with
seeking men. TWO great words OF his
were. Come" and Go" To twelve
men ore after the other. he said, Come. ="
When these were filed with his spirit
and his teaching he then said. ~Go'-go
unto the lost sheep of the house of Is
rael. Go teach" To other men he said,
Come and then later he said 10 them,
seventy in number. Go. teach. preach.
Go not 10 tn, Samaritans or the GendIes
but to the Jews. Seek them, teach them
the truths of the kingdom
The two greatest masterpieces Of liter
airy painting are the parallels Of the
Prodigal Soa and Of the Good Samaritan
and both teach the truth by God seeking
! and saving the father seeking his son
to save him ard the man seeking his
brother and saving him. The son. for q
long while did not or would not heed
the preaching fathers heart; but the
father failed not even yet TO continue 70
seek and to wait. The father never ceases
to seek his son. The man makes a feast
for his friends but his kindness is not
needed They are concerned. one with
his farms. another with oxen. another
with new VIE But the servant Is sent
10 seek yet other guests. The house shall
be filled The shepherd has lost one sheep
out OF the hundred. and, having the nine
- and nine in the fold. ne goes seeking
till he finds the last one. The woman
has lost one silver piece from her neck
lace Of gems and rests not until she has
ransacked the house and found the miss
ing coin. All of these figures are en-
pIoyed by Jesus in teaching men that
God is a seeking shepherd. a saving
I father II is Christ's conception Of God
and his fathery relation to men.
But what does this mean among men
today? We hear people talking about
getting savea much as they talk about
getting the measles. And the permanent
result which is attached to the thing
they denominate getting saved" Is about
as substantial as the permanent result OF
measles. Again it is said Christianity *
a life line thrown out 10 a sinner sinking
into hell It is not an uncommon thing
to see eloquent men rresmerize people.
and particularly children. and so manipu-
late their mental and emotional activities
in times Of great public excitement. that
al the psychological moment they pro-
claim them saved. speak Of this
because II is perhaps the commonly ac-
copied meaning attached by the IN
churched. and by certain positions Of the
church community. to the expression
saved" But 1t Is not the Christian
meaning and certainly not the New Test
ament idea OF the form. We fnt Jesus
~ no time so teaching OF saving We
have no reliable evidence that She ADos-
ties had such a conception OF their mis-
sion d teachers Of the kingdom
The saving Of men meant the turning
Of men in their motives. aspirations
hopes toward higher and divine ends. the
turning OF love from SELF ana ccnzeq n
selfish and animal nature 10 other THAN
self. and consequently 10 unseifsh ends
Hence a mans individual salvation from
a he'll OF torture. the or time idea and
end OF salvation. would be a selfish end
But the turning OF a hayward child. in
rebellion against true and loving father,
" realizing the folly as well as the sin
CT opposing the fathers love. hack 70 the
father and the home. mekes Of tho child
9 new creature in relation To The father
The father has not changed. hut tne
child has \ rev relation j. established
between the once Grant child and bis
father
But not al chtidren aye u rebe ion
against their fathers No les a-e al
men in rebellion against CSod and truth
ard right The way u salvation IS the
w 70 righteousness which j. the way
Of God and christ some men. yet many
men walk II II without making any pre-
tensions a. professional salvation; AID
many there are perhaps who are saved
/ ihar are rot uTfrE as Jesus lirod ~ as
{ h taught men 70 live and Il walk Jesus
life sad al its Influences vert q turl
r1ea toward lives q lowing obedisrce 70
The divine father above frn-n rhoFu is