Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-06-30

keenly jesus brings His evangel Of forgive
ness and peasss Ehe words spoken ID long
ago have them greatest significance now,
for we can see, as those Jews could not see,
As He spoke of the Father IN such init
mate terms, bitter resentment arose in
their hearts. As He told them Of His will
ingness to lay down His life for His sheep,
they retorted: "He hsth 9. demon and is
mad; why hear ye Him." Possibly we
living then. But now in the light of the
centuries past. we look upon that lonely,
forsaken, cruci6ea Christ and recognize in
His face the glory Of the living, suffering
God. For the "suferings of Christ were
the true representative symbol and proc.
lamation OF what goes on perpetually in
God. From them God wishes the world to
learn that sin is put away only through
which He Himself is gladly bearing, and
which Christ, His representative and ex-
preston, endured before the eyes of men,"
It 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 winch
the historic: Christ spoke to those. Jews
indwelling, iflmanent Christ. T like that
word immanent. It 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 I'M
manent God. 1t is He who says Come
unto Me all ye that ]abor and are heavy
laden and I will give you rest" 1t Is He
who says, II am come that ye might have
life and that ye might have it more abun-
dantly." 1t is He who speaks to us in our
sorrow and says, "Come with your sin and
shame, come with your Sadness and dlsap-
pointment, come with your hsavy trial and
discouragement and l will give you peace.
God with us! now to give us the victory:
God with US, now, to forgive our sins GOD
with us! now, to give us heaven IN our
consecrated labor for Him.
would that these words Of Jesus which
we are considering might live in your
heart, as l 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 Cod our
Father as far removed! 1t may be because
count for it, the fact remains that many or
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 or
more needed to-day than truer, larger,
more Scriptural idea of God. We need to
realize His abiding nearness. But we need
to forget the old idea Of an unappfoach-
able God. I recall the words OF Henry
Drummond, that great teacher, who, d1f-
ing his short life. won SO many men to
Christ. Il remember very well" he says,
'the awful conception of God l got when
was a boy. [ was given book OF
Watts HYMNS, which was illustrated, and ,
among other hymns there was one about
God. and it represented great BLACK,
scowling thunder cloud, and In the midst
| Of that cloud there was a piercing eye.
That was placed before my young Inagna,
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. Il has
taken years to obliterate it, And fear
most Of us have had to go through a sim.
liar experience before we have been rid or
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 a 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,
a purer man, truer man, IN that hour 1T
| 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 a
| 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 Goo
| which worketh in YOU
Multiplied are the experiences III whic,
God is speaking to our souls, and many o.
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 WIG
trample upon the beautiful violet, nevel
thinking that they have one Of Gods
! sweetest thoughts under their heel. There
are myriads of stolid eyes which look ui'
| ward to the stars but see not Gods glor,
in the robed beauty of the sky. There ar
multitudes who stand beneath the magnifi
cent blue vault of heaven, gazing upo,
some gGgeous sunset, never dreaming tha
God lighted the fire. And beyond numbe
are they who fail to feel she presence o
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 you
Father Be not so concerned to save you
| soul as to save your life. Give God you
, life and He will sanctify your soul.
Gods Service.
! I thought within those cherished days 0
old-