The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1907-05-23

glorious realities of the spiritual life
as 1t is that the tongue has not yet
told the fullness Of the glories of
that richer life that is yet to be. But
though the tongue may be unable to
explain 1t all or to reveal in finite
language the infinite experiences of
the spiritual life it is none the less
real. The spiritual religious life is
the result of experience. 1t is ex-
perience. 1t Is just as exact and
scientific in its way and just as ex-
detrimental, mystical and abstract
though it be, as any other scientific
discipline. 1t cannot, of course, be
demonstrated by the experiences Of
the physicist alone, or by the ter
m%inology of the geologist alone, or
by the rules of the algebraic formu-
lac. But it has its W laws. It's
own characteristics may be scientific
ally t~abulated. It's experiences may
be classified. It's reality may be in
vestigated and proven by any open
minded, open-hearted man who will
place himself within the realm-of it's
manifestations and permit himself
to be moved upon by it's influences.
1t is spiritually real.
Then, tooy the true religious life
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in Jesus Christ is officially infuen-
tial. 1t takes hold of the conduct
Of the man, and whereas he was be-
fore satisfied with lax and easy reg
ulations for the ordering of his per-
| sonal and social life, it leads him past
all that is superficial and insufficient
and less than wholly righteous, step
by step into such a recognition of
the claims of God n of humanity
upon his life that he is soon satisfied
with nothing but the best in manners
and morals, and is continually test
ing himself by an increasing measure
to find whether or no he is worthy
of the approval of Almighty God,
his King. The real religious life that
was practiced by our Lord and Saw
ious Jesus Christ is a life that is
militant in the life of the man seven
days a week. 1t is no weekend
religion. It is a force from the first
stroke of the midnight chime on
Saturday night to the precise moment
when another week having gone ring
ing down the grooves Of the past the
bells shall boom again another mid
night note. 1t declares to men the
reality of the divine authority and
the insistency of human accountable
ity to Him. 1t leads the sou into
a larger recognition of the claims of
personality and inspires humanity to
square itself with the claims of So
ciety upon the individual life.
The true religious life in Jesus is
as vital in national affairs as it is in
individual. We do not need in our
times more churches or a larger or
ganization. What we need most is
that the present organization and the
present churches shall make the re-
ligion of the Lord Jesus Christ to be
felt and realized as a vital force in
all departments of our national life.
The true religious life is the med
ium whereby comfort, joy, hope and
courage are mediated in divine fash
ion to the human soul. In no other
life is comfort so satisfyingly given.
In no other life is the joy that hui
mainly so largely needs so truly
ministered. Here is our highest hope.
Here we drink deep of courage and
are most endued for conflict against
principalities and powers and pan
oplied efectually for the conQuering
of sin.
The greatest mistake in the world
is for a man to reject the privileges,
the prerogatives, the appeals of the
religious life. For the soul without
God is not alive. Only in the con-
seriousness of His reality and in will
ing subsection of self to Him do we
live. The live man is the one who
lives within God through the grace
and love revealed and mediated in
our Lord Jesus Christ.