The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-02-22

thing worth living for. That is the
first point. When you recognize that,
YOU have taken the first step in SOUL
growth.
2. The second condition is to recog-
niZe clearly the great hindrance to
soul-growth. 1t is futile to ask why
our souls do not crow naturally. as. for
instance, the body does. Spiritual de-
velopment is one thing. natural growth
is quite another thing. The fact must
he recognized. exnlain it how you will
that sonl-growth is tremendously hand
icapped and hindered bv forces which
conspire it's ruin. In other words. our
souls are in the grip Of 4 deadly dis
ease. which dwarfs and stunts them.
What is that disease? A correct dag
nosis is the first step to complete the
cure.
Supnose for a moment you have
hoy who. instead Of growing into
health and strength. is pinched and
dwarfed and anemic in anDearance.
You take the lad to physician. and
he will tell Won that that hoy Of vours
is really SUFFERING from wrong habit
of life. He is not being nourished nrop-
erly. His digestive organs are being
overloaded with food which he cannot
assirnilate. What the boy needs is not
more food. bnt less: not richer diet.
hut simnler. Nature is being tbwarted
by artificial living. and artificial living
is the seed-nlot of disease. And the
physician will doubtless tell YOU that.
the boy being young. the cure is simple.
He will say: "Give nature chance
by simplifying his daily diet" Well.
it is even so with the health Of the soul.
Our souls are starved and stunted by
disease. which is created and aggra-
waited by A wrong mode OF life. we
are so gorging our minds with all the
elaborated and artificial forms Of liv-
ing. that the spiritual within us is
stifled. Sin is the disease which kills
the soul. bnt sin is simply product or
that sordid selfish life which clogs the
great arteries Of the soul. IT del1Der-
ately we follow life which makes no
provision for prayer and communion
with God. which cherishes evil habits
and nourishes actions which begin and
end in self, then we are deliberately
killing the soul within us. What. then.
is the price we have to pay II we want
to grow a soul? We must change the
mode of life which enthralls us. and
make provision, not for the things or
the flesh. but of the spirit. In that
purer. sweeter. simpler atmosphere the
the soul will inevitably begin to grow.
The vitality Of your soul is wonderful.
It's recuperative powers are marvellous,
but these powers must have their op-
portunity. Here is a disease which is
stuntins and slowly killing my soul
am I willing to fulfill the condition
which will eradicate that disease: anu
make spiritual growth a reality!
8. That leads to the third point:
What is that condition? And VINO OF
US. by his own strength. is sufficient to
meet that condition.? We cannot GER
tainIy, by our own efforts, hope to re-
verse those natural tendencies within
us which war against our souls. we
cannot, by any strivings Of our own
force spiritual growth. II we are uh,
able to add a cubit to our physical
stature. much less can we add to our
spiritual growth. Yet, the call or
Christ is to "grow in grace. and in His
likeness" What. then. is the secret OF
that growth? The Gospel OF Chrlst IS
the answer. Our souls grow as they
come into living touch with Him. we
cannot transform ourselves. but we are
transformed into His likeness. as we
reflect the spirit Of Jesus, and we re-
fleet Jesus in the measure that we re-
fleet On Him. Make Christ the theme
of your daily prayer and medltaton'
and every moment you spend in HIS
presence is springtide OF spiritual
growth within your soul. That CROWN
YOU cannot check: no sin can h1Dder IL
if you are living in the atmosphere OF
Christ's life. It is not our striyings
and strugglings that add to the stature
of the soul; it is our faith. simple as
that of q little child which, laying hold
of the love of God revealed in Christ,
builds up the soul, day by day, into His
grace and into His likeness.
Now. ask, is there anything strange
or mysterious about that? Is spiritual
growth subject to laws any different
from those which govern any process
of mental development? Surely not
To make any theme a subject OF daily
thought is to make that theme potent
influence in your life. The more deeply
it laws hold of your mind the more pro-
foundly it becomes part of yourselr.
All YOU have to do is to fulfil the con-
dition of continuous thought, and the
object of your thought reacts upon you
and becomes a dominant factor or
growth. We speak, for instance. or a
man being possessed by some master
passion-it may be the love of money,
or of power, or Of sordid self-lndul.
cence, or of some higher interest, but
Whatever it is, the. result is the same.
Constant dwelling upon it moulds char
acter into it's likeness.
So it is with the soul that surrenders
itself to the influence Of Jesus. AS we
think of Him, and as we enter into the
spirit of His life. and breathe the at
mesphere of His love and purity, grad
ually we are transformed, and the soul
within US leaps up into glad recognition
Of it's lawful Love. Every power we
have, every faculty we possess be-
comes interpenetrated by His spirit
and because His spirit is life we live
also.
Excited.
--,.s ry,1y -,,o5 In %aJ1 $hic Glory