Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1906-06-22
By Rev. Henry T. Cope

God, who is rich in mercy, for his
great love wherewith he loved US
Eph. 2: 4.
Vigorously as we may protest against
the sloth that substitutes analyses ana
speculations concerning deity for hu-
man duties and service, it is not well
to lose sight of the fact that a mans
character largely is influenced by his
conception of the highest form of being
he may know or imagine. The trend OF
a mans life is determined by that
which he places highest in the heaven
Of his ideals.
Now it is better that man should
be a pagan, saying he has no god ana
looking out only on the world OF ma
ture, than that he should be moldeu
by the philosophy of universe ruled
by dour, grabbed hearted tyrant. For
q man always will find things ana
thoughts sweet, fair, wholesome ele-
waiting and broadening, moving to graf
itude and sympathy, when he looks out
on nature, on field, and sky; but only
bigotry and bitterness can come from
the life whose sky is darkened by the
specter of a god of wrath.
They say that the devils most happy
delusion is the persuading of men that
he is dead; rather, if there be a prince
of darkness with any favorlte mes
sage for men. that message we'll may
be that the god of pettishness, anlmos-
ity and cheap, theatrical sovereignty IS
still alive and controlling the destlnles
of men. 1t always has been easy TO
find Grabbed souled theologlans VINO
would accept that picture as portrait
because it was the only one that coulu
lie within their experiences.
But only a vision from on high could
bring to our dull hearts the great ana
glorious fact of one who could love US
all. whose heart affections pour out.
rioting in wealth like the glowing sun
of summer, who abounds III all that
our hearts are hungry for, the things
that seem in our world as the bread
from some fairer, sinless land; love
and sympathy happiness and goodness,
tenderness, kindness, peace and JOY.
The men who argued the existence OF
a creator from the wonder of his works
stopped short at the vital and only per
manently persuasive part OF their argu-
ment which would demonstrate the
goodness and tender kindness the over
flowing wealth of the Creators love as
evidenced in a world so fair and full
of beauty. Strange that we should think
that he so ungrudgingly would give to
all the things that delight our eyes and
withhold from any all that for which
hearts hunger.
All through the ages this great love
has been seeking men. We, because we
were like spoilt children, Jealous, and
DESTROYS of keeping in the tiny channel
of our affections the divine heart
wealth, have decided his love could not
be for all; he only could love the good
such as we are; he must hate the
hayward, the light hearted, and all
those who could not crowd their mind
into our intellectual molds.
We were blind to the bountiful, linn
itless affection speaking through every
upspringing blade and poisoning flow
er, through the earth's riot of unneces-
sary happiness, through singing voices
of seers, through strange tear command
ing thoughts on starry nights. We
would not learn even from our lesser
love, our affections as father and broth
ers Strange blindness and deafness!
And when one voice spoke, a voice
that still sounds clear above all others,
when he talked of one who could love
publicans and harlots then men turned
on him, saying, you have devil!
Still we set up our false gods of self
ish hearted philosophers What won
der the world is hungry with a hunger
that bounteous crops and tides of pros
perity cannot assuage it is hungry for
the deep things of the spirit for the
impulses, aspirations, and affections,
the uplift and comfort that flow from
the heart of the infinite to all his chill
dren, for the water of the river of life.
Would that we might lose the scales
from our eyes and see how near and
how good God is, how wondrous his
wealth and open his hand.