The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-01-18


man does serve to enhance the pleas
ures which he enjoys. am convinced
that the way in which Jesus won the
abundant life and the way in which
every other man must win 1t. is to
make his work as the great deep ocean
of his life. and let his pleasures BE- as
the waves that take their form from
the nature of the pressure of that
ocean.
1t often is said that life is made up
of joy and sorrow. Strictly speaking
of course, this is not true. but 1t Is
true that the emotions very largely
fill our lives. when the numbness
comes up to my heart" said Socrates,
then l shall depart" All literature,
as one has pointed out will be found
to be that part of human thought that
is wrought out in the name of the
beautiful But beauty is sentiment.
a feeling, and hence all literature. us
ing that word in its proper sense. is
of pure sentiment. In all the long
journey from Homer to Shakespeare,
those passing along that path must all
the while laugh or smile or sigh or
weep. The book -maker can supply
man with facts; the high. immortal
word-weavers do not deal in facts but
in all the sad and happy experiences
of the soul. The book OF Homer is the
exploits of the heart. At this place
Achilles and Agamemnon fought, but
not over a question in science or pol
itics or religion, but over a woman of
surprising beauty. At this place An
dromache and Hector kissed each other
and their child and parted. The boy
smiled Slielt :, Al OalaChp
all bathed
In tears, stood by, and clinging
to his hand
Addressed him, Hast thou no
pity then,
For this, thine infant son and
wretched me?'"
Imagine II you can, this world with
out an atmosphere, and you have con-
ceived OF monotony not more terrible
than that of life made up of contin-
uous events, uncolored by the playing
shades of emotion. The abundance of
our lives will depend somewhat upon
this interplay of JOY and sorrow. 1t
Is in this sphere also that i would like
to Indicate how Jesus won the album
dant life.
From this standpoint it surely does
not seem at first glance that the life
of Christ can be construed as worth
the while, the sorrow so heavily over
balancing the joy. Should l instance
some other personage-some man
whose life was so overlooking as to
euggest the poets words:
How good is mans life, the
mere living.
How fit to employ,
All the heart and the soul and
the senses
Forever in joy
Should l do this then we might agree
that here was life that could count
its experiences as worth while. But
here is the Christ, of whom the old
poet spoke so truthfully, HE is de-
spised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief; and
we hid as 1t were our faces from him;
he was stricken and we esteemed him
not" Born in obscurity, hurried into
a foreign land, living his youth in re-
tirement and labor, going on into his
ministry to mingle indeed in the joys
of his people, but far more to bear the
stripes of their scorn and hatred:
standing for truth until hypocrisy led
him prisoner to Plate while those
who had shouted for him in enthusi-
asm are now lifting their voices in
their demoniac yell, Let him be cruel
fed Can such a life rise above it's
hard experiences and be counted a sue
cess? Yes, and the reason Is found in
one sentence in that same prophecy
from which l have quoted, He shall
see of the travail of his soul and be
satisfied" The thing that made his
life of value was the deep undercur-
rent of its influence. Its temporary
defeat might wiring from his lips that
cry of anguish on the cross, Eli, Eli,
lama sabacthani? But his eternal sue
cess was already pressing upon his
spirit, when he uttered those other
words, ut is finished" When we come
into the presence of Christ We feel at
once that the balance between JOY and
sorrow was not the sole thing that
would determine the value of his life.
Joy and sorrow were incidental to that
life, and influence comparatively little
the great sweep of its purpose.
The ship that sails forth on a voyage
may encounter gales and be swept out
of her course, and come into port at
last wrecked and broken. But If she
has safely brought her rich cargo
through 1t all the owners say that the
voyage was worth sailing. But the
ship that hass lost its cargo-thrown 1t
overheard perchance to save its sails
and comes into port with hull and
rigging preserved In perfect order, but
with nothing to show for the voyage,
the owners will say of that voyage, 1t
was not worth the sailing.
So life may be swept by tempests
of sorrow and disappointment turned
aside from its course and forced to
tread paths that 1t would not have
chosen. But If 1t comes into port laden
with the harvest that 1t reaped from
it's sowing in other lives, God says of
II that 1t has been worth while. But
that life which has thrown overheard
it's cargo OF influence to save its sails
and comes into port with nothing to
show for the voyage, may have saved
itself vast amount of hard work may
have escaped great tempests Of defeat
still If there is on board the ship of
that life no rich harvest reaped from
the sowing in other lives. God says of
1t that through and through to the end
1t has been a failure.
Our experiences OF joy and sorrow.
however important they may be In
their place, are not the things that
determine values as We may believe