Norwich bulletin., 1912-08-26
PREACHED ON THE
 POWER OF ENVIRONMENT Rev. Joseph H. SeIden's Forcetul Ad- dress at Last Union Service at Broadway Church.

dress at Last Union Service at Broadway Church.
 There was a large attendance at the sixth and last of the union services | held at the Broadway Congregational church on Sunday morning. The 1 preacher was Rev, Joseph H. Selden | of New London. who gave an excellent l address from Rev, iii;2O, "Beheid l | stand at the door and knock and 1T any man hear my voice and open the | door, l will come in to him, and will sup with him. and he with me. An | interesting addition to the modern Ve= | csbulary Is the word environment. AL l though the idea itself may not be new, | it has recently gained new appllea- | ton and scope, There are two groups 1 of methods employed in the unfolding ! of life-those that work from within | and those that work from without. The 1 first group are directly connected with | latent powers and capacities. It Is in 1 the exercise of these inner powers that i life is revealed through action. A ! stone has none of this inner power | while the lowest form of organism l shows by it's activity that it possesses | life. The diamond is inert and with l out function and has no beauty until 1 it reflects the light from without It lis much lower than the firefly, which | shines from it's own light within. But l to know the full life history not alone l the powers and capacities must be l studied, but the environment as well. l This latter controls so much Of the
 life.
 Relationships of Life.
 Scientific research has done much l to show the amazing range or | much to show the amazing range of | environment. The flowers now fading 1 in the garden are forming seeds which must wall till next spring to be re- | stored to their natural environment ln l the earth, air, dew and sunshine nec- 1 essary to their growth. People try 1 to enlarge the human environment | They can for the physical conditions of the child The material side of life is looked after because it is found 1 to go far in determining the life. But it is not all A child grows in other
 ways. He wants to know things. 1 Most of his sentences end with a ques- tion mark He looks out with clear eyes upon the world and the wonder of things makes him ask. This is the
 beginning of the process which con- ] tinues in the man. In recent years he has made wonderful progress in his search for knowledge. The most high ly prized of this has been gained in the last fifty years. Darwin's book
 was the key which unlocked the mys-
 tery of the world. Intellectual life has
 been quiekened by this new environ
 ment Then there is another kind 1 relationships to persons. A man is
 known by his friends. He Is also made by them. Like himself they have la-
 tent powers, are Tickle and prone to
 folly, fallen but not entirely over
 thrown; for to them visions come
 which they rise to meet, Their exper- l fences are a matter of concern to him,
 for they are partners of his life. But,
 after all, the most vital relationship is
 that to God, The most real things in
 the world is God and the most real
 influence is divine.
 Environment of Life Divine. Behold, I stand at the door and
 knock He comes to every mans DOT
 tai. It is not soulless world but is shot through and through with divine
 influences. It is not world in which
 men have struggled upward and final | ly found God-but one in which he has
 sought man. A child's thought of God
 may be crude and yet he may know
 Him in the terms of his own expert I
 of his life finds himself face to face with God and realizes that the envir-
 onment of life is divine. If any man ' open the door" This door must be } opened from within. We hold oul 1, lives in our own hands Every one is conscious of these mystic influences l The placs they occupy in eur lives is chosen by us. Material choices may l be limited by ones position in village or city, or, like the Russian girl ir } ths Land of RFefniss,'' by the country [ in which one lives. Even so, many
 emerge from the hardest environment Intellectual freedom brings an ever , wider range and vitality. The public school gives choice to opportunities tC ! which who shall set the bounds. But
 even here, the range is determined by
 oneself. All these advantages are neg ligible without the personal initiative
 In the highest range of all comes un-
 restrained freedom. God comes to al i the world, because he made the world ' for them. He brings his gifts ane
 urges them upon men. He has antiei |, pated all their needs and longings They see with eye, or mind ,or heart I light air order, truth, beauty, fellow
 ship, provided for them. What mal
 becomes, what experience he attains . depends upon himself-Whether he ap
 proprtates this gift of God, whether h,
 employs his powers to the utmost
 Here is the solution to the mysteriei
 of life. In this respect all people ar, , well born, God is watching over eael
 one and if failure comes, 1t comes iron : failure to use the birthright witt u which each is endowed. It is the diff i ference between being alert and open l eyed and of stopping to lament am 4 complain, This text brings a messag S of geed cheer. Its present tense shssN 4 the wonder ef Ged's patisace, He i
 continually ready te come as frienl
 and Saviour as Sovereign
 always brings a gift for us, The su \ Premest privileges may come te aa < eHe,