Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1903-11-07
SOUL GROWTH.
The Formation OF Wise, just,
Happy and Christian Character
Is Slow Work.


1t has been said that 1.-The manufac-
ture of souls of a good quality is the
! first business of a great republic
Now. souls Of good quality are not
manufactured, but grown, says Newell
| Dwight Hills. If we should distin-
guish between souls of bad quality and
souls of good quality, we would say
that these latter are wise, just, happy,
Self-sufficing and Christian.
The man is wise-toward all truth in
books, in nature and in life. The man
| Is just-his feet run along those high
ways of law that God has set up for the
! souls progress. He is happy-that is,
he is in harmony with his own record.
his conscience and his God. He is
self-sufficing-that is, he is equal to all
the emergencies of life, and with a
surplus of strength he thrusts his
broad shoulders under another's bur-
den and carries that in addition to his
own. But all these signal qualities are
growths; they are not suddenly thrust
upon men. Indeed, Christ's every par
able regarding the Christian life is one
that interprets it as a growth.
The kingdom of character is a seed
But the wild grass grows into the rich
barley. The wild thorn becomes the
red rose. that is doubled The wiid
| orange, bitter and acid. becomes the
orange that is Seedless and full of
sugar. And the kingdom of heaven is
planted in the soul as a seed and slowly
grows and expands to its full size and
| fruitage
n b IN,
| terrret the growth of character is
architectural. Character is a noble
| building; 1t is based on the body, in
! deed. as marble palace has founda-
| lions that rest in the mud and go down
to the rock. How beautiful is the fig
ure! What a hall is reason, What a
| gallery, full of pictures of the past. is
| memoryi What decorated walls are to
/ be found in the chambers of imagery!
I How do housewives fill their garrets.
just under the roof, with all manner Of
cast-off furniture and old garments,
But the upper story of the soul IS like
a glass observatory. Often faith
stands in its tower of observation and
hope forecasts far-off and future
things
|
in a night save in fairy stories Little
by little the materials for great build
ing are brought together Slowly
grows the SOUL Each thought is nail.
each habit is pillar each noble mem
DRY of friends beloved is the face of an
angel found in the frescoes on the wall.
Slowly the souls house is furnished
and adorned and oft the Stranger
| Divine is guest welcomed and knock
ing at the door. To this rich figure
Christ adds third. when he lilSens the
| Christian life to an education. It was
as If he had said: ''The church is nv
school. you are my pupils. life is a
great lecture-room. joy. sorrow. love,
work, victory, defeat. temptation,
books. death-these are the life
| teachers"
To make the soul great-this is the
purpose and aim of the Christian life.
for individual worth is the very genius
OF Christianity. One great soul Is
more influential for inspiration and en-
couragement than a million lesser ones.
just as one Shakespeare can do more
for the world than a million penny-a-
| liners. God saves by few. He raises
up one Mary Ware as the far-off
founder of the Red Cross movement.
and then innumerable women 60 up to
her level He raises UP one Paul or
one Luther and nations climb to the
| heights where these exalted spirits
dwell. In the Paris Worlds fair the
treasures of the world were brought
together. What pictures. What arch
itecture! What arches and columns,
What bridges! What marvellous tools
and looms and ships, But a great
character buided by thirty years of life
is an achievement incomparably richer.
what treasure in a hero. in whom
all heroism, all disinterested love all
wisdom, all patience and self-sacrifce
are united. If it takes a long time TO
grow a tree, to ripen a scholar. to con-
struct cathedral, how much more 10
grow a man into the full stature of one
who resembles Jesus Christ! You have
lnausurated great enterprise in
your youth, and the building of vour
character is worthy of all thought and
| ambition and tirelesS tOi1in~