Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-04-06
pg)I1M2.
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tempt to prove what the Bible every
where takes for granted, that God is.
God is the most certain fact of objec-
tive knowledge. This is everywhere
true. The idea Of God is innate. The
existence Of God and Of a future life
is everywhere recognized.
An unwavering faith in God is not
superstition, but is characteristic
Of the highest intelligence and Of a
well-balanced mind It is an exponent
Of large and deep spiritual nature.
Religion and God are infinite concep-
tons. Dwarfed souls have no satisfac-
ton in them. One must be spiritually
minded to investigate spiritual things.
TO the spiritually minded belief makes
no greater demands in many respects
than the facts of science. There are
facts in the physical universe relative
to space, time, matter, motion and
light that finite minds cannot conceive.
Marvellous beyond expression are the
statements of science, and yet they are
not too great for the faith of men. But
do you not think it marvel that men
can accept these things without ques-
ton, and on the other hand their atti-
tude toward God or Christianity is
that OF Wavering skepticisln?
But we brush aside all these oues-
tons and make inquiry, not as to the
existence or power of God, but how is
ne related to me? How is he affected
toward me? To Christians there IS
one word that answers the questions
and that is father. God is our father
This word of profound significance and
OF surprising tenderness belongs to
man alone. When we have said that
God created the heavens, the earth and
all material things we have given most
CT which the subject admits. But it
is not simply true that he created spir-
it's, but he is the father Of them. And
this is most sure God loves infinitely
more his offspring.
Pater, ! love is the element in which
God lives and reigns. Recognizing
this fact we must be awakened to the
correlated truth with all its reciprocal
obligations, and that is, we are chill
dren of the heavenly Father. We are
made partakers of the divine nature.
The subject opens large field for in
vestigation. The dewdrop on the rose
reflects perfectly the whole sky above.
Ii we are partakers of the divine ma
ture, there will be something about our
spirit, speech, walk and life which
Will reflect the divine. AS children we
have faculties by which our service
may be most natural and blessed
These faculties are the highest proof
that God is our father. Nature does
not perpetuate faculties that have no
work to do. They are gradually en-
feebled and finally taken away. If our
faculties for recognizing and commun-
ing with God were needless. thew
would soon disappear. There is a
passage of scripture of special tender
ness upon this point. You have been
heart-broken, it may be, through the
exercise of pity upon your child. God
speaks to you in all the tenderness of
his nature: Like as a father pitieth
his children, SO the Lord pitieth them
that fear him." What would we do if
we did not know that the Affections Of
this life were working for the peaceful
fruit of eternal righteousness? All,
my soul, thou needest the divine Faith
er. Thou modest to feel that the issue
of every dark thing is gong to be for
his glory and for thy perfection.