Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-23

leased. He was not released. but there
was given to him the grace to with
stand the temptation and to make an issue
with the evil, so that he could in very truth
say that by Gods grace and by Gods grace
alone Il am what I am
Sin is lawlessness-that's all 1t Is. It Is
the humiliation Of getting licked" in the
fight 1t is the cowardice of captivating as
soon the enemy draws near. 1t is treach-
cry to the standards of right that should
dominate our life It is the ignoble weak
ness of jellyfish character that has no
powers of resistance
Law is impressed on all creation. From
the lowest forms of amorphous life to the
highest intellgences there is law and order
everywhere. and it is one of the joys OF life
that this law is memorable. II 1t were not
and any sort of thing could happen at any
unexpected time what a constant state OF
misery We would be in. We have conf
dence In the eternal and inimitable laws of
nature. that given certain causes certain
effects must always follow. There Is. more
over, something very attractive and beauti-
full in this reign Of law and order and con-
sequent harmony. and character that Is
formed by obedience to law is something
lovelier than the morning. Is there any
thing more divine than the soul that loves
subsection to law and will not depart from
the paths Of recttude? Is there anything
more godllke than the spirit recognizing
that order is Gods first law, fits in with the
eternal order OF things, catches step with
other things in creation, and thus sends up
to the Master chorus Of praise and
service? The sinner Is the discordant note
in creation. His disobedience to law Jars
of nature. for sin is lawlessness.
If all else In nature moves smoothly,
whence arises this impotent revolt on the
part Of man? The root Of 1t Is in one 1nys-
FERROUS. inexplicable word sell" All revolt
against God, all rebellion against His law,
is simply In the assertion Of self. It is a
determination to do what we like, and not
what we ought. It first appears in the
wayward child-"I am my own MASTER" IT
am sufficient for myself" II follow my own
will. and care not for the consequences"
What is God and His eternal purposes to
me?" It develops in the child Of maturer
years, who will have his fling" regardless
Of consequences. Though he knows that
sin will entail the most dreadful results,
loss OF self-respect. loss Of friends loss OF
business. loss of Gods friendship, yet, in
spite of it all. he follows his own caprices
He cuts away from the established order,
thinking to find freedom; but he becomes a
slave to the vilest masters, his own pas
sions. his own whims. He is thrown down
from his high dignity and is dragged in
the mud of his wild and unrestrained ex-
cesses. Instead Of worshiping the God Of
all. he makes himself god to follow, and
his own capricious will is his rule Of life
1t is the ignoblest side OF our individuality.
1t is parody on our divineness. It be-
comes the apotheosis Of self and its cult
is the unlovliest Of all things vulgar
self1shness. It is like the one in the dime
museum who stands in the midst Of cum
1t is himself; wherever he looks It is his
own image. For the sinner who viii not
acknowledge the restraints OF the divine
law there Is no one else in all creation but
himself. There Is no bore so dreaded as he
who always talks OF himself. There is no
personality SO unlovely as the one that is
full Of self-assertion. Egotism is detestabIe
under any circumstances, but 1t becomes
doubly so when it is opposition to law Of
God
If sin is lawlessness the remedy lies in
obedience or conformity of ones own will
with the divine will. In this sense is inter-
preted that passage of Holy Scripture, the
losing of ones own life in order to gain a
higher. The best life we have is the life
of our will. and when it is made conform
able to Gods will we take on the divine
life. 1t is noble act since all else in
nature obeys. The Master himself was
obedient even unto death. He went down
to Nazareth and subject to them"
God was subject to man. The creator of all
things was obedient to his humble parents
The highest perfectioniSm consists in a
spirit of obedience to law. BY this act Of
obedience we give God the homage Of the
best thing We have-our own will. AS In
the virtue of faith. we give God the hon.
age of our intellect and thus do thing
pleasing to God. So. too. when we restrain
our own inordinate desires and make them
subject to the law of God our life is infinite
ly pleasing to the Master.
"Whosoever abdeth in Him snneth not"
Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawless-
ness; for sin Is lawlessness.
particular as to whom we shall know. The
desire for the company of the best people