The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-03-02

you have taken the first step in soul.
growth.
.. The second condition is 10 recoc-
nize clearly the great hindrance TO
soul-growth. II is futile Ia ask why
our souls do not grow naturally. as. for
instance. the body does. Spiritual de-
yelopment is one thing. natural growth
is quite another thing. The fac! must
he recognized. explain il how you will.
that soul growth is tremendously hand
icapped and hindered nv forces which
conspire its ruin. In other words. our
souls are i'm the grip of deadly dis
ease. which dwarfs and stunts them.
What is that disease? 4 correct dag
nosis is the first step 10 complete the
cure.
Suppose for q moment you have
hoy who. instead of growing into
health and strength. is pinched and
dwarfed and anemic in appearance.
You take the lad 10 a physician. and
he will tell you that that boy of yours
is really suffering from a wrong habit
Of life. He is not being nouriShed prop
erly. His digestive organs are being
overloaded with food which he cannot
assimilate. What the boy needs is not
more food. hut less: not richer diet.
but simpler. Nature is being thwarted
by artificial living and artificial living
Is the Seed-plot of disease. And the
physician will doubtless tell YOU that,
the hoy being young, the cure is simple.
He will say: Give nature chance
by simplifying his daily diet" Well.
il is even so with the health of the soul.
Our souls are starved and stunted by
disease. which is created and aggrA-
waited hy wrong mode Of life. We
are so gorging our minds with all the
elaborated and artificial forms OF liN-
ing. that the spiritual within MS IS
Stifed. Sin is the disease which Kills
the soul. but sin is simply product OF
that sordid selfish life which clogs the
great arteries of the soul. If deliber-
ately we follow life which makes no
provision for prayer and communion
with God. which chprlshes evil habits
and nourishes actions which begin and
end in self, ther we are deliberately
killing the soul within us. What, then,
is the price we have 10 pay if we want
TO grow n soul? We must change the
mode of life which enthralls us, ana
make provision. not for the things OF
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.
Its recuperative powers are marvellous.
but these powers must have their op-
portunity. Here is disease which is
stuntiug and slowly killing my soul
am | willing to fulfill the condition
which will eradicate that disease. ana
make spiritual growth a reality
In
What is that condition? And who OF
us. by his own strength. Is sufficient to
meet that condition? We cannot GER
tainly. by our own efforts. hope To re-
verse those natural tendencies withln
us which war against our souls. we
cannot. by any strivings OF our OWL
force spiritual growth. If we are un-
able TO add "A cubt TO our physical
sta ture. 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. ms we
reflect the spirit of Jesus, ana we re-
feet Jesus in the measure that we re-
feet on Him. Make Christ the them"
Of your daily prayer and meditation
and every moment you spend In ms
presence is springtide or spirltual
growth within your soul. That growth
Won cannot check: 10 sin can hinder II
If YOU are living in the atmosphere OF
ChriSt's life. II is not our strivings
and strug@lngs that add 10 the stature
OF the soul: il j. our faith. simple aS
that Of n little child which, laying hoid
of tho love Of God revealed in Christ
builds ND the soul. day 10y day, into His
grace and into His likeness.
Now. ask. is there anything strange
or mysterious about that? Is spiritua.
growth subject to laws any dinerent
from those which govern any process
Of mental development? Surely not
70 make any theme subject OF dallY
thought is to make that theme a potent
influence I'm your life. The more deeply
Il laws hold of your mind the more pro
foundlv ii becomes a part OF N0urSe1.
Al you have to do is TO fnlfl the con-
diliou Of continuous thought. and the
object Of your thought reacts npon you
and becomes dominant factor or
growth. We speak. for instance. OF q
man being possessed by some master
passion-it may be tho love Of money,
or of power. or Of sordid Sclf-indu.-
gence. or Of some higher interest. but
whatever II is. the result is the same.
Constant dwelling upon it moulds char
acter into its likeness.
So is with the soul that surrendcr'
itself TO the influence Of Jesus. As we
think Of Him. and rs We enter into the
spirit Of His life. and breathe the at
mo ,phere of His love AMI purity, grad
ually we are transformed. and the soul
within u- leans MP into glad recognition
Of its lawful Love. Every power wo
have. every faculty We possess he
comes interpenetrated by His spirit.
and because His spirit is life We live