The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-08-12

Tor we can see, as those Jews could not see.
their fuller and more profound meaning.
As He spoke Of the Father in such inti-
mate terms, bitter resentment arose in
their hearts As He told them Of His vii
lingness to lay down His life for His sheep.
they retorted: HE hath a demon and is
mad; why hear We Him" Possibly we
would have spoken likewise had we been
living then. But now in the light of the
centuries past, we look upon that lonely.
forsaken, cruci6ed Christ and recognize in
His face the glory Of the living, suffering
God. For the "sufferngs of Christ were
the true representative symbol and proc
lamation IF what goes on perpetually in
God. From them God wishes the world to
learn that sin is put away only through
the redemptive suffering of holy love.
which He Himself is gladly bearing, and
which Christ His representative and ex-
preston, endured before the eyes of men,.
1t is this truth which gives to the words
OF the text their power. He who SAID: Il
am come that We might have life" is Him
self the life which He seeks to impart. He
and the Father are one. The words which
the historic Christ spoke to those Jews
then are being repeated now to us by the
indwelling, immanent Christ / like that
word immanent. 1t is theological word.
but it is a splendid word, pregnant with
meaning. His name shall be called Imma-
nuel, God with us, the inside God, the inn
manent God. 1t is He who says Come
unto Me all we that labor and are heavy
laden and | viii give you rest" 1t is He
who says, II am come that We might have
life and that we might have it more album
dainty" 1t is He who speaks to us in our
sorrow and saws, Come with your sin and
shame, come with your sadness and disap-
pointment, come with your heavy trial and
Encouragement and will give you peace"
God with us! now to give lis the victory.
God with us, now, to forgive our sins. God
with usl now, to give us heaven i'll our
consecrated labor for Him.
| would that these words Of Jesus which
we are considering might live IN your
heart as ! try to have them live in my
heart, as words spoken now, tonight, by
the everything, ever-loving Father! How
common it is for us to think of God our
Father as far removed! 1t may be because
of our training, but however we may ac--
count for it, the fact remains that many OF
us fail to realize that God is dealing with
us now just as intimately and just as gra-
ciously as He dealt with the great prophets
of old. How many of us carry about with
us the sense of God? Do we have the con-
viction of Gods abiding nearness wherever
we are? If not, the greatest blessing of
life has been missed. There is nothing
more needed to-day than truer, larger,
more Scriptural idea of God. We need to
to forget the old idea of an unapproach-
able God. / recall the words Of Henry
Drummond, that great teacher, who, dur
ing his short life, won so many men to
Christ. II remember very well" he says,
"the awful conception of God l got when
/ was boy | was given a book of
Watts hymns, which was illustrated, and,
among other hymns there was one about
God, and it represented a great black,
scowling thunder cloud, and in the midst
of that cloud there was a piercing eye.
That was placed before my young lmaglna-
ton as God, and | got the idea that God
was great detective, playing the spy
upon my actions and, as the hymn says,
writing now the story of what little chill
dren do. That was bad lesson. 1t has
taken years to obliterate it," And l fear
most of us have had to go through sim
liar experience before we have been rid OF
the terrible God of childhood, the far
away God of childhood, and come into the
spiritual conception of the everywhere
present God of the Bible.
Now it is this everywhere present God,
our Father, who seeks our life to save it.
He wants our life now, for without God
life is q living death. With God, life is
growth, development - heaven now and
heaven hereafter. Without God it is de-
terioration, atrophy, death. Here are two
facts which our own experience confirms
as true. We need to realize, therefore,
that there is never time when God the
Father is not near us to lead us into His
life. In the hour when you feel the stir Of
divinity within you in the hour when con-
science speaks and says, be nobler man,
q purer man, a truer man, in that hour sit
is God which worketh in you" Possibly
it was but yesterday that you spoke the
unkind word that wounded a devoted
heart, or gained your point in business by
running your fellow man, or committed
sin that leaves blot on the scutcheon, but
afterward, unless your heart is already
dead, you heard still small voice plead
ing with you to repent your evil way and
live better, higher life. 1t was God
which worketh in you"
Multiplied are the experiences in which
God is speaking to our souls, and many Of
us have never heard the voice. Ears have
we but we hear not We have eyes but we
fail to see. There are great crowds who
trample upon the beautiful violet, never
thinking that they have one of Gods
sweetest thoughts under their heel. There
are myriads of stolid eyes which look up
ward to the stars but see not Gods glory
in the robed beauty of the sky. There are
multitudes who stand beneath the magnif-
cent blue vault of heaven, gazing upon
some gorgeous sunset, never dreaming that
God lighted the fire. And beyond number
are they who fail to feel the presence of
God in the ordinary experiences of life.
My friends, God wants our life. Do some
thing with your life. Let your energy,
your talent, your service be for God your
Father. Be not so concerned to save your
soul as to save your life. Give God your
life and He will sanctify your soul.