Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-06-27
which God announced himself


world. For the true Hebrew was be-
fore everything else character build
er. He wrought into his own being
and into the being of all who were
capable of sharing his vision the quail
ties that he saw in God.
1t was their vivid conception of God
that made the Hebrews foremost and
greatest among the three -determining
nations of antiquity. The debt that
we owe today to the art, the literature,
the philosophy of the Greek to the law
making and empire shaping genius of
the Roman. is trivial when compared
with our deep abiding obligation to the
Hebrew.
Jesus showed his audiences that the
Kingdom of Heaven about which they
We're so eaber. is a kingdom, not for
the proud. the righteous, but for
hunger and thirst for the righteous
ness which they constantly lack, who
are gentle. forsiving and appreciative;
wnc. to sum up. are the pure in
heart"
BY the pure in heart Jesus means
those whose hearts are not progresses
ed against the truth; those who have
no selfish interests that make them I'M
willing to see, no bias. no prejudice to
hinder them from looking straight into
the very being of Jehovah. Gods
kingdom, He would say, is a reflection
and expression of Himself. of His ma
ture. in all it's purity, justice and love.
He would go to the root of the very
difficulty often telling them that they
must become like little children if they
would enter the kingdom of God 1t is
then, the one who has the spirit of the
little chld-the one who by being born
again returns to the guileless sincerely
of a child. the one whose eye is single.
that is the one whose moral sense is
unpreverted, whose heart is pure and
therefore free from calculating self
interest. it is such one that shall see
God.
The most difficult and troublesome
demon that mankind has to fight and
which Jesus helps to destroy, is the
selfshness that simply will not see be-
cause it does not wish to see. When
this demon is out the heart is pure. Ev-
eryWhere what men are depends upon
what they wish to see. a truth brought
out in the homely roverb-None So
blind as those who won't see. And the
counter truth is this-None so keen of
vision as those eager to see.
In dealing with moral issues. in
meeting temptations and shaping
conducts. we all see with our hearts. If
our hearts are pure. our vision is ac
curate and we see the truth and the
right. If our hearts are impure. we
cannot see the right the true, though
it be as transparent of the light.
This is only another way of saying
that real ideals. the ideals that begat
longing and excite to effort. the ideals
that men really confer to all others.
invariably shape their lives What
they tremendously want to be. that
they become. The habtually dishon-
est man may tell you that his ideals of
manhood include answering honesty.
but he is neither trying to deceive you
or is himself deceived. So with a glut-
ton. liar. the shifty politician. the
chafty manipulation of men, the man
who speaks YOU fair and does you
false. the man who processes to be a
child of the light but is caught bur
rowing in the darkness. The speech of
these men gives you their pretences.
their conduct discloses their ideals.
They pretend to admire sincerity. but
their actual delight is in hypocracy
and in double dealing
There are vast crowds of men who
in business. in social. and in civic life
have become incapable Of making fine
moral distinctions. who have lost the
power Of honest conviction and the en-
rergy Of heroic resolve. They have
played fast and loose with themselves
and with others Until their tull stock
of motives is deprived from experience
policy.
For 2 man to depart never so little
from his perception of right is to inn
peril all Only resolute self-recall and d
| re lighting Of the sacred torch of truth
can save him. To temporize when prin-
ciple is involved. when moral issues
are at stake is to be lost
Again. how natural and how pardon
a BILE K seems to be to make some slight
compromise with truth, when the eX-
igencies Of the case appear to require
it, Every such adjustment Of ethical
standards. to supposed interests. is
subJecting our moral sense to d strain
that it can not bear. is making more
and more alien to us the pure heart
that sees God and responds to Gods
laws.
Such moral deterioration is altogeth
or too common Unchecked it will cor
rupt our entire business. civic. and. So
cial life, and make us nation vt pa
cans rather than Christians. We can
not be John the Raptists. much as we
admire them. and still live in king s
houses and wear soft raiment.
our fathers We're great and strong
thew were shapers of human destiny
and examplarr of human possibilities,
because. like the ancient Hebrews. they
saw God and sought to rear the Pill
grim and the Puritan state upon the
grand attributes that impressed and
inspired them
Only as our fathers God. not in
name hut in vital. ever deepening ex-
perience. shall we be worthy of our
heritage. shall we prove ourselves "the
desire of all nations.
Any worthy ideal is in itself an in
SEPARATION to great thoughts and great
deeds. Really to see God is to open
our hearts. And We find more than
ideals. more than appeals. we find Him
working with us. and for us. All the
groat forcec of tho visible and the in