The Glenwood post., 1905-08-26
DR.. GUNSAULUS
SPEAKS AGAIN
The Noted Chicago Lecturer and
Preacher at the Presbyterian
Church Last Sunday
DRAWS LESSON FROM SlNFLOWER

DR. w F. Gunsaulus, of Chicago.
preached to Reverend Currens' flock
at the Presbyterian church last Sunday
morning. Though the event was
not advertised the church was filed
The noted divine spoke with all the
fervor and eloquence he would use in
addressing thousands, and his hearers
got glimpse of that power and stIik-
ing personality that has placed DR..
Gunsaulus at the head of the Armour
Institute and made him pastor Of the
Chicago Central Presbyterian church
as well as a favorite of the Ameri, an
lecture platform.
His text was, Aud this is life
eternal that they might know Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom Thou hast sent -
The speaker dwet on the signif-
canoe of life as being thing of
essence and quality rather than of
quantity and duration.
Now l brought with me this
morning little flower continued
DR.. Gunsaulus, showing a sunfiower.
Suppose that you and l are seeking
a gospel for this flower, and we begin
with the seed and the root and we go
up through its life clear from the stem
to its blossom now what ia the first
word of that gospel2 What it wants
to know is. what life consists of.
Life to this flower does not consist of
time; it is not a question of three
months or three weeks. Life is an
experience with this flower. Here
life is an assimilation, process,
taking unto itself something without
itself, and it is building itself out of
that something from which it lives
This is life. Throw overheard. my
dear friend, at once, any gospel that
does not begin by seeing this life.
want to know what life is. l know
that life is an existence; but the fact
that live on and on means absolutely
nothing. Why. this book exists; this
book may outlast me. / stand on
these rocks and l look upon the silent
stars, and l see a star sparkling and l
say yes, there you are, you are older
than l am, but you cant think l can
think You cant feel, can feel.
You can't will, | can So life to me
is not length of existence at all, it is
thing of quality, not quantity. We
get rid wholly of the idea of duration.
well now, this flower is sun
plant. If l were to take this flower to
the labratories of the Armour Institute
of Technology where l live most of my
life and should show it to some chem
ist who had never seen the sun, he
would say doctor, this thing that
you brought in here is not moon
plant nor star plant nor an electric
light plant but he would say in some
words that would feel after the fact
this is sun plant All its vitality
is sun experience, it sucks out of the
glowing beams of the sun its wealth,
Its beauty. This plants religion is
sun worship. Religion means to re-
bind, from religare, and this plant
is bound up with the sun. The glory
of the sun is manifested in the plant
it lives IN the sun and by the sun; it
worships the sun, and its life is its
religion. The moment it ceases to
worship and aspire it begins to die.
The whole history of the plant is
religious history,
You are Gods plant just as
certainly as this flower is a sun plant
| You may take the poorest wreck of a
man that went through the streets of
this town with shame and disgrace on
his face last night; take him into the
labratory of philosophy and he is
Gods plant. You cannot account for
man without God; there is no such
thing as atheism, whatever men pre-
tend. Where did these ideas of
beauty come from; whence came this
longing for truth9 You never saw
perfect beauty. and yet think Of it.
Where did you get the idea9 You
never saw absolute truth, and yet
aspire to know it. How did you get
the idea' Is it a reminiscence
This is life temporal to the flower
that 1t may know the true sun. You
must put In the word eternal, when
you speak OF man. for there is not
enough Of time foI man to be a man;
man must have eternity. He rises
with his thoughts and hopes into the
invisible; he deals with infinites. not
finites. There is not great enter
prise that does not demand eternity
time 10 too short