The Detroit times., 1912-03-28
I'VE WOULD SEE JESUS"
) TO Be CHRISTIAN S PRAYER
-REN. }. VANCE.
Means Turning Ones Face
Toward God, Pastor Tells
tenten Audience
-REN. }. l. VANCE.

I'VE would see Jesus was the
prayer of the Greeks said the Rev.
J. l. Vance. in beginning his address
in the Lenten service in the Detroit
opera house, Thursday noon.
TO offer such a prayer Is TO turn
your face toward God. and 10 have
such a prayer answered, is 10 catch
even here foretokens and fore
glimpses OF the eternal life" con
tinued the speaker Il do not think
IL was prayer of idle curiosity. The
Greeks were idealists. What they
wanted was not a sight or the man,
but an Interpretation OF that Tor whlch
he stood. They went 10 Philip with
their request Philip said, IL Is be-
yond me-. and took them 10 Andrew,
who felt as Philip did, and together
they went to Jesus and told Him the
prayer of the Greeks, and Jesus In
terpreted Himself. He began TO talk
to the Greeks, and rs they listened
they saw Him. What did they see!
First, | think. His Godhood. As they
listened 70 His law OF sacrifice, ana
service, they said. He is not super
human. He is divine. They had great
men In their nation, but hey knew
that among them no man had ever an
nounced such a lofty and noble con-
ception of life as that which Jesus
was giving 10 them.
1T would seem that the deity OF
Christ ought TO be closed question
at this day, and yet the editor OF
one Ct the foremost religious maya
zines OF this country, in public ad-
dress. declared his disbelief in CHRIST
deity. Christ assumed His Godhood-
tie was either God or He was not
II He was not. then He was either
deceived in Himself, or He was de-
ceiving others about Himself ii ne
was deceived i'm Himself, He was
crazy; If He deceived others, lie was
an impostor. Both OF these conclu-
sions are unthinkable 10 any one VINO
has given an honest and careful per
usal to the teachings OF Jesus. Inc
alternative remains that Jesus was
what he assumed Himself to be-
God. But while he assumed His deity,
He claimed His humanity. His name
for Himself was not Son OF God, out
Son OF Man, and He took this name
I imagine. because He was absolutely
sure of His deity A little man IL
Jealous of his titles; he worships his
uniform: he says his prayers 10 de-
gree: but a big man can get along
with a plain name And so little God
NAV be Jealous of his titles and at
tributes, but for a real God a PLAIN
name will do. and because Jesus was
absolutely certain OF His deity, he
chose a plain name-'Son OF Man.
I'VE are concerned for that about
which Christ was apparently indiner'
ept-for His deity We imagine that
If we car establish the dogma OF His
deity. the rest will be easy, and so
we preach our sermons and write our
books on evidence. What does 1t al
amount to? Very little. Because
what man needs is not dogma Out
vision, not argument, but experience.
One who has lived all his life In the
frigid realm of the Arctic zone may
have his doubts about the warm skies
and Towering fields and sunlit gar
dens OF the tropics. What he needs
Is not a temperature tube proving Ger
tain degrees OF heat are possible, or
picture book OF the flowers that
bloom under southern suns, but let
him stand in that zone Of warmth and
light and catch upon himself the
glow and glory OF the tropic world
and doubt will die.
and so one who has lived all his
life in the atmosphere of metaphysical
speculation as 10 the person OF Christ
may doubt the Savior's deity. What
he needs is not the temperature tube
OF argument, or the picture book o.
dogma, but an acquaintance WIN
Jesus.
More important, think, than their
vision OF His Godhood, was the re-
vision OF His humanity. As they lis
tened TO Him. they said, This God Is
man. For the help that Jesus Is to
give us in our daily life, IL is perhaps
even more important that We believe