The Brandon news., 1908-03-12
enough to stand for truth and right

merely IN MS faithfulneSS but also
in his humility. Humility is not what
most men think 1t is. 1t is a COM
mon opinion that it consists in think
ing meanly OF oneself, OF tiisparaging
oneself before others. How can
man think meanly of himself when
he realizes that he is made in the
image OF God, that he possesses a di-
vine nature, that he is of sufficient
value to call forth the sacrifice of
the Son OF God? No; man was not
made to crawl but to climb. HUI
mility consists in a willingness in
our greatness to stoop to the low
lest children Of earth and lift up
the fallen, comfort the sorrowing,
strengthen the weak, to yield our
selves, as did Christ, willing sacri-
fees for our fellow men. John
knew the Importance of his COM
mission; he felt himself honored in
being selected to proclaim the COM
ing Messiah, yet he reckoned him
SELF a mere voice crying in the will
derness, or bond-servant, un-
worthy to minister to his God. We
have read that an order being given
to adorn the walls of the House Of
Commons with pictures, Hayden sent
petition to Parliament, asking that
he might have the privilege of paint
ing one of them, and begged at the
same time that, If his request were
denied, he might be granted the
right to paint single figure, and
that if that should be refused, that
he should be allowed to put on few
touches. Fearing, lest even this last
desire should not be granted, he Pc
titioned the government to let him
mix the colors for the artists. or
rather than be excluded entirely
from participation, permit him to
hold their brushes. So great and ex-
alted was the work to be done that,
with true artistic longing, he felt
that he would be honored in the low
liest service. Herein we find the
secret of rue humility, the willing
ness to minister in the lowliest
places and to the most degraded of
our fellow men, while possessing
sense of our greatness as children of
the Highest, if only we can be used
of God in advancing His purposes in
the world.
Still further, we see Johns great
ness revealed in his realization of the
presence Of Christ. To him the Mes
siah had ceased. to be a coming de-
liverer; He was present leader, a
contemporary. Moved by this pro-
found conviction he felt as did the
Apostle Paul, that he had but one
mission in life, to herald the presence
Of his Lord.
Perhaps there is nothing that is
needed more to-day than a stronger
sense OF reality in our religious lives,
clearer vision Of the presence and
power of God. We have in our
churches machinery CROUCH: we have
organizations and committees in
abundance. Have we forgotten that
without deep and abiding realiza-
tion Of living Christ these things
are vain?
What does a drowning man desire
most of all? A fine discourse on the
art of swimming? A pamphlet on
the buoyancy of salt water? A sched-
ule of statistics on physical en-
durance? Would not these things be
to him mockery? What his soul
most desires is a plank, a boat, q
rope, a helping hand What does
the needy world want more than all
else? A sermon on the art of spiri-
tual notation? A book on the up
lifting power of human nature? A
statement regarding religious in
stincts? No; to an immortal being
engulfed by sin these are a mere
mockery. The world to-day is call
ing for real Saviour, one who is
actually present. to lift and strength
en- and guide. This is an age of ne
cations, an age in which slight refer.
ence is made to the blood atonement.
But the crying need of men, as of
old, is the preaching of Christ a
crucified and risen Lord. BY faith
we become identified with Him, by
faith we accept His sacrifice, by faith
we are nailed with Him to the cross,
by faith we rise with Him in new
ness of life, by faith we partake of
divine power. Yes, we need real
Saviour.
But again we find Johns great
ness shown in his devotion. He was
not word repeater. He cared little
for forms. Creed making was not
in his line of work. He had out
grown the rudiments of life and had
come to know the secret of power.
The set rules Of the schoolroom are
inAortant in their place, but in after
life we forget them, having adopted
the principles that they expressed.
Words become nothing to us when
they have done their work and fixed
their meaning in our lives. John
was possessed with realization that
he was commissioned by the Almighty
to proclaim a great fact. His whole
soul was thrilled with the thought.
He was on fire with a divine en-
thuSiaSm He had no inc1inafi0n IN
con over the old form of his call, but
rather to do his work under the i'm
pulse of new soul ambition. Who
ever heard of any man being per-
manently baffied who was on fire with
great truth? We say that circum-
stances are against us. Not so. It
is our faithlessness that hinders our
devotion. The world always believes
in the man who himself believes. The
crowd always makes way for the
man of faith. The trouble is we
keep coming over our old formulas
instead of allowing ourselves to be