Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-06-11
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SECRET OF SPIRITUAL BEAUTY.

BY Rev. James E. Sawyer, D. D.
Unto every one of us is given grace
according to the measure of the gift
OF Christ"
In mans finest and most useful
creations there is the charm of SYM
metry. In noble architecture there is
both strength and beauty. The nobler
the example the more conspicuous the
bleeding of these characteristics, as
in Giotto's Campanile, at Florence, the
lovely Church of st. Ouen, at Rouen,
and the Cologne Cathedral. great
locomotive Is a thing Of beauty as
well as of power One of the most
beautiful of all things Is grf At ship,
the embodiment of triumphant power
that makes the stormy ocean a safe
highway.
In character God desires the best.
His architecture in the building Of
character makes provision for SYM
metry as well as strength, for lowell
ness as we'll as personal power and
marked individuality. There would
be more symmetrical Christians If
there was more study of His ideal of
human nature and more cooperation
with His spirit, which He gives with
out measure. Symmetry Of Christian
character is not an unattainable ideal.
There have been many actual exam
pies of it. Perfect examples Of it are
very rare, but that they do not exist
is too much to say. Most OF us have
seen some people whose goodness was
strong in all directions, and every
element of strength enhanced their
personal charm, their spiritual beau
ty. Among both the cultured and the
uneducated we have known some In
whom the beauty of holiness has been
gloriously, though modestly, visible.
Grace is a victorious principle. 1t
never welcomes outwardly without at
the same time working inwaldly
There is nothing so broadening as
divine life in the heart. The individ-
ual spiritual life is in closest relation
ship with all the spiritual power in
the universe; has vital fellowship with
all goodness wherever it exists; has
discernment, when divinely quickened,
to see what Is best and most beautiful
in other human lives, and eagerly
covets all excellencies as it's own; for
power to live an ample human life 1t
draws upon all the resources Of God,
Oftentimes some extraordinary de-
veIopment or manifestation Of spir-
itual earnestness blinds us to the spir-
itual beauty and humility by which 1t
is attended. Still oftener perhaps
some lofty manifestation of spiritual
loneliness in character wells the
strength that all the while lies be-
meath it, as the verdure of tree
wells the stalwart branches that have
triumphantly wrestled with the wild
| est and most angry winds, and are
only the stronger for the conflicts en-.
dured.
For centuries the Christian Church
seemed to see the passive elements in
the character of Christ, and had only
weak, and unworthy conception of
the Lord whom 1t adored. The man
illness of Christ, as though newly dis
covered, fascinates the attention Of
our times. The evangelists saw it,
and plainly portrayed it, though the
Church so long failed to devote at
tention to 1t. There is no strength in
God that Is not in Jesus, lin whom
dwelt all the fullness Of the Godhead
bodily" Those who make Jesus more
merciful than God, are equally in er-
| ror. The gospel shows Him all gen
tleness and all strength, all purity and
all mercy, all humility and all dignity,
all meekness and all majesty, all truth
and all love, solitary and most social
| the perfect model of both the contem-
| plative and the active life; manifest
| ing the divine heart by His self-sacri-
| flee, humiliation, and death, and mani
| Testing the divine life and power by
! rising again. But how often In Chris
tian theology the perfect spiritual
beauty of Christ has been fobscured.
How often an imperfect conception
has been presented instead of the
completeness of His living person In
| like manner, the most symmetrical
| Christians are often but partially ap-
preciated. Their spiritual beauty
causes their force to be undervalued.
| Their activity, their earnestness, their
self-denial their righteousness, their
| courage, are often but little recog-
nized, because they are so happily
blended with humility, gentleness and
meekness. The most mature and COM
| plete Christians are those who have
least self-assertion Those who have
| closest communion with God are the
ones who know not that their faces
shine A Maroon Christian may be
useful, but, like the thin edge of a
wedge, mostly for splitting purposes.
Those who heal and bind up and build
up are such as have the fruit of the
Spirit in a rich cluster of varied vir-
| tues.
Symmetrical Christians are not all
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