The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-30
KINGDOM IF GOD
 IS WITHIN YOU" Rev, William E. HutchiSon At First Presbyterian Church JOYFUL IN THE WORLD Minister Declares People Should Be Happy in This World and Not
 Look Solely to What
 Is To Come.
IN THE WORLD

The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say To here! or To therel for behold the king dom of God is within you"
 The foregoing selection from the verses, was the text chosen for d ser mon preached yesterday by the Rev William E. Hutchison of Tuscaloosa from the pulpit of the First Presby- terian church. The pastor took as his theme the statement that the Kingdom of heaven, though a physical state ex- isting in the after life, also exists in the life of man on earth.
 Rev. Hutchison spoke as follows:
 q believe in the immortality of the soul, not a conditional but a na- tural immortality I believe there is heaven, and that paradise is not a mere state of mind but place with physical bounds and physical propor- tions. I believe there is a hell and that as the abode of the wicked, it is d place of eternal torment and not a temporary or transient condition.
 Some are strong in the belief that heaven is only to be reached in the hereafter, as certain teachings in the gospel may lead to that belief. The idea may not be false; but 1t may be true without being gospel. It may be law, but law is not gospel. Jesus is the source of the gospel and if we must know the truth of the scrip lures we must learn from His life and teachings. Some misguided people think that goodness Is only mode of getting to heaven; that the world is little and sordid and worthless and that the mind must be ever kept on larger things.
 This is not the gospel. The world is not a place to be endured, where man must always suffer and be bored. In all his preachings Jesus said but little of getting to heaven or hell. He did not intend that his message should be taken as means of escaping hell, or of gaining the crown of glory in heaven. His one purpose was the en- ligh tenment and purification of a wol d of sin.
 "The belief that goodness and Christianity constitute merely a mode of escaping eternal punishment has given rise to the development of two classes of people. First, there are those who are righteous from fear of the pains of hell and not from the love of goodness and the joy of right living These people keep from sin not that they desire to lead better lives, but to escape perdition. A second class is of the glories of heaven, who scoff and make little of the world.
 This feeling clearly does not in terpret the spirit of the gospel. When Christ was born in the manager at Bethlehem and the shepherds who kept watch over their flocks received the glad tidings, the heavenly chorus sang
 "'Glory to God in the highest; on earth peace, good will toward men,
 That is the true spirit of the gos- pel-peace and good will on earth, and not merely in the heaven that Is to be. The problem of the Christian should not be how to be rid of the
 
 may be gained. The kingdom of Goa is at hand, for 1t exists in this world.
 '"The meaning of the word heaven is often misunderstood. According to the belief prevalent in biblical times the term signified only a physical state of exis- tence. As the story goes Elijah in his flaming chariot disappeared into a phys ical heaven. The word means, however, the abode of God, whether literally or figuratively speaking. It signifies also any sphere in which Gods will is done, as, for instance, the earth. It is change of attitude on the part of man, whether in this world or in the next. Some texts heaven is a place beyond the world in which we live, but none says that para disc exists only in the future world.
 Heaven Is without doubt condition of this world as well as the next. In the fifth chapter of Mathew Christ Is found to say, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven Also in the thirteenth verse of the first chap ter of Colossians, Giving thanks to the Father. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.
 'Tn truth. the kingdom of God is not wholly beyond, but reigns and Is here. Heaven is wide and far-reaching, but the Kingdom has a place in other things be- sides eternity.
 Many view the prospect of a future
 tal. is enabled to see with great clearness ob- jects in the distance. He may remark on the beauty of a tree that stands afar off; but he fails to see the tree near his side which is of equal beauty. He may be delighted with the minuteness with which he may see the flowers that grow on the distant hillside when blossoms of equal beauty bloom near him. So it is with the seeker after the Kingdom of heaven. So engrossed is he with the all turing prospect of eternal happiness that he fails to pause to observe the beauties that are at hand and are accessible In this life In his eagerness to catch a glimpse into the bye and bye he does not realize that life holds forth number less ioys that he has failed to share.
 "There is no reason why we should not live ioyously here. The Kingdom of God is on earth, and 1t Is our duty to live in it. We should not allow the old thoughts and feelings to dominate us that domi- mated the early Christians. There are joys in this life and it is our duty to partake Of them.
 Tt is wrong to think the world small and ugly The world is the handiwork of T.1s ..a c,o,,ld ba fraafad sllcb God