The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-06
HAMLINE STUDENTS
HEAR LAST ADVICE
President Bridgman Delivers
BaCcalaureate Sermon Be.
fore Graduating Class

The Methodist church at HamIine was
crowded to its capacity Sunday morning
10 listen to the baccalaureate sermon to
the graduates of Hamline university
preached by President George H. Bridg-
man. OF the university. The members of
the graduating class thirty mine in num-
Der, occupied seats in the body of the
church. and a special programme of mu-
sic was rendered by the church choir.
Many friends of the. Hamline institution
were present to show their interest in
the university and in the members OF
the class OF 'G4.
DR.. Bridgman took as his text the
passage from Luke tx: For Whosoever
will save his life shall lose it, but whose
ever will lose his life for My sake, the
same shall save it" DR.. Bridgman said
in part:
''Fhe word life may denote the physical
life with all it contains of ease, pleasure
or other emolument, or it may designate
the spiritual life, both here and hereafter.
In the context this physical life is placed
as the lower, the inferior, phase of life;
the spiritual as the higher. and of SUI
PFeme Importance Our Lord makes the
startling statement that a supreme re-
gard for the lower life is incompatible
with the possession of the life eternal He
teaches that sin is more to be dreaded
than either suffering or death and that ne
who seeks to save himself by violating
his obligation of duty thereby loses in
fnitely more Kf1anC he had hoped to gain.
1t is in this sense that whoSoeYer Will
save his life shah dose 1T, and that WhoSo-
ever will Iose1 his. life for ChEist's sake
shall save it.
1T is not an admonition for a particular
time or country only. 1t Is for all times
and all people. 1t is, in fact, the an
nouncement of one of the profoundeSt
laws of human existence. Had it never
been spoken bg Christ at all it would still
hot VNylnn
ever makes His 1lower life the object OF
supreme regard thereby loses his higher
his true, eternal life.
Life Is Tested Daily
'Citizen life meets this test at every
turn. Men are told that moral principles
| in political life are as irideScent as
dreams; that what Is known to be morally
wrong everywhere else is right i'll politics
The expectation of personal advantage OF
ACKNOWLEDGMENT is presented as the al
| inclusive reason for party adherence
There is thus raised before the citizen
| in our time the same old question, Whethel
| he will lose his life for ChristS sake OF
save it at an infinitely greater loss.
Moral obligation covers all. OF life. Enc
stealing of Office from motives of self
| interest alone, and by means of trickery
and slander. is as unchriStian and as base
as is stealing of goods by burglary 81
| highway robbery For the citizen there
| is no escape from this trial Of his mora
sincerity.
"And now what is cur own attitude tc
| the great principle here laid down by oul
| Lord? You have already anticipated the
application of this subject to yourselves
| Though the law of dying to live has beer
| over you in college as elsewhere, the years
| you have spent i'm this university have
| stood in your. thought as a. preparation fol
more active life. You now go out, de-
! Gliding as you go, what principles shal
| guide YOU and what you will stand for II
| this lifelong battle.
You may adopt this policy of making
SV
| your lives You will receive many sug-
| gestions that is the easier and safer way
i You will see multitudeS going that road
| confident in themselves that they are II
| the way of life, Or on the other hand
you can do as Jesus did; you can choose
| what He chooses. and stand with Him ii
unswerved adherence to whatever is right
| and in relentless hostility to whatever in
| jures man and dishonors God.
! Ibid / say you can make choice O
| either Of these governing principles?
| should rather have said that you will dt
| it. You cannot avoid accepting one Of
| other Of these objects as your supreme
| choice. There is no middle way. Oul
| lives may have various forms of expires
| sion but our supreme choice will ter
inmate either upon the seeming advan
tageS of saving ourselves, OF upon tht
| higher-the eternal life We cannot choose
| both; it is equally impossible for us tt
choose neither. We must make choice o.
| one or the other.
Means to True Success
| eff you have already made the decision
| if you have chosen to. lose and gain will
/ Christ, let me encourage you, at any an(
4 all cost to maintaiA this holy choice. Thi:
| and tl1& alone leads to real success. Rep
| utation not founded upon merit place OBJ
| tanned by questionable means, position!
/ grasped in the absence of deserving quail
/ fications, these are not success. You
true success in life will be measured by
the amount of service you render to man
/ kind. To trick yourselves into counter
! felt greatness would be to draw an ar
| gallery as a prize. and in the act of draw
/ ing to become blind" It will be in seTv
| ing others that your own highest abilitie:
/ shall be developed.
| sIt is a law in physical life that what
| ever becomes useless shrivelS away, while
| that which serves higher purpose is cor
| respondingIy developed. True greatnes:
is conditioned upon service. Would yet
be remembered by those who come aftel
/ you; 1t Is to unselfsh benefactors tina
memory clingS and monuments are built
! The world is filled with Illustrations o.
| the law that he who would gain the wOrl(
| loses himself. Men are constantly at
tempting to break it, but find it as uni
| form and as inyincible as gTavitation it
self. BY this law our lives will be meas
ured, and in the end estimated. By thi:
/ law our religion will be tested in thi.
| world and in the next.