The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-25
Conception of Transforming the
 Human Heart
SPIRITUAL PARENTH0OD
Arising. Out of the Fact That Man Is a Son of God He Be- comes a Man of
 Destiny.

SeconQ ITeSDyIefldn cnurcn SeSlerudy morning on the subject, Sons of God With Power.i taking his text from John, i:12: But as many as received him. to them gave he power to become sons of God, even 10 them that believe on his name"
 Mir Mooney spoke in part as follows:
 Sons of God. with power-what a mag nificent conception this is! How it should appeal to all that is fine, and soldierly. and serious in the human heart. It is the conception of Jesus. This idea of Jesus was born in another land. in a land of fullness and glory in a land without stain or tear. But in the execution of this conception it became necessary for Jesus to leave that land and come to a land that was bleak, and scared in many ways. It was this conception of Jesus the conception of transforming human hearts here and there in the earth from Nazareth to Jerusalem, from the woman who was sinner to Nicodemus, the mo- bleman; from the blind man by the way side to the rich young ruler-that kept him sos teady in his work, steady in the At'C hostile multitude, steady even until death.
 The terms, sons of God, and power. ought to be linked together, and yet how frequently is it true that a son of God is a weakling in the face of the high de- mands of life, how often is he frail in spiritual fibre, how many times is he only a babe as far as great moral gifts are concerned.
 Jesus was a son of God, and he was a Son of God with power, power enough to do common thing uncommonly well, power enough to have a sympathy with the average man, power enough to be kind and forbearng, power enough to surrender his life to accomplish his tasks. And as we take our stand by the side of Christ, the first-born among many, brethren, we who in lesser but in a real sense, arc sons of God, we should in our measure show our sonship through our power, our power to accomplish something worth while, our power to be patient and kindly to men, our power to be tolerant, to do our tasks with dignity, and to att tract our race to our supreme ideals.
 WHat bOSS it WCdH.
 What does it mean to be a son of God, by beleveing on the name of Jesus? It means, if it means anything at all that we shall realize the idea of spiritual pa- renthood in having God as our Father. When after men had been on the earth for centuries, Jesus said one day: Your Heavenly Father knows what things ye I,ax afs 8r. words spoken for all the ages, that brought the idea to men-a man may ask what practical bearing it has upon our life just now, with it's strife, and it's need, whether we think of God as our Deliv- erer. our King. our Judge, or our Father? Much. every way, but most of all it means that new spiritual presence comes into the life. All around us are the bounds, all about us are the lines. sur- rounding us are the walls. after we come to the bounds beyond which we cannot go, the lines beyond which we cannot cross. Then two things must happen either we must fall back upon ourselves or some rfew power must be introduced. The presence of the Father is that new power.
 The greatest void in any life natural or spiritual is the void of parenthood. We justify in a measure many criminals to- day, because they were outcasts because they lacked the protection and the re- straint of the home and developed along the bleak lines of orphanage. We ouf- selves owe much to principles and ideals we acquired through our relation to our parents and the home. As we think Of the future of our children, rather would one have them die than be carried away by ruffians out of our sight and infiu- ence the influence of parenthood
 When we pitch this principle on the spiritual plane. the idea becomes all the more plain and true-the bleakest life m the world today is the life that Is robbing the spirit of the spirits privilege of Fatherhood. The man who coins the idea and the faith of the unseen Presence into his work and his problems is a far differ ent man from the man who does not
 However, God comes nearer. if that were possible, to us as He expresses the truth, that involved in the concep- tion of the Sonship Is the fact of the comraderie of Jesus Somehow, in some ways, we get closer to our brothers and sisters than we do our parents If is because we have more in common. because our habits have not crystai- ized, we have not become severe. And so in a sense we feel on nearer terms with Christ the elder brother, becau use there are the thousand points of con tact between His life and ours. In ap- preaching Him with our deep human need there Is nothing to explain or make plain This understanding is so through, and His synpat thy Is so wide. anr his comprehension is so absolute. To be Son of God With power means to come into this possession.
 Becomes Man of Destiny.
 Arising out the fact that a man is Son of God, he becomes man of destiny. Napoleon was pleased to think of himself as a man of destiny, and SO he was, and many others who have believed likewise, we all are. But these words of God are spoken con- corning Gods sons-"predestined to be conformed to the Image of His Son and that is the inevitable spiritual destiny of a Son of God. The younger brethren must become in spirit and in heart like unto the elder brother neither is this spiritual destiny brought about in any radical or unnatural way but in way that is very natural. we become conformed to this image of Christ through the doing over and over again of the many tasks of life. Through periods of nnrelieved stress, through discipline of spirit and temp erament. through following high ideals, through the humble service to our fel- loue-aud by and by if may he a