The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-11-24


/ prs-sminsnt. Always O. ~ ssnt ~
i messages through our antslugsnes
! through our fssling. tAxeugh greA
men who have lived In some aim was
altar HIS image. but svsn thes'
! prophets and martyrs have bad y
! much OF the earth In them that VI
! could not see clearly the image the!
! sought to make plain. Even our Owl
conscience that richest source o.
/ Gods knowledge. has not been enough
: to make God near and clear to Ne
/ and 30 God came Himself. HE sem
unto them other servants more thar
the arst. but last Of all He sent unto
them His Son" That IL what the In
carnation means 1t was . getting rid
OF messengers: It was sweeping away
machineries. and by q new and Twins
! way bringing those whom the very
methods Of their communication had
separated from one another. God and
man, close together. face to face. heart
to heart.
In speaking thus OF the fact Of the
Incarnation I beg you to observe that
I speak only Of its MAYNARD aspects.
Men talk sometimes OF the difnculties
of the Incarnation: I do not know what
dihaculty means TO an Omnipotence to
which nothing Is impossible save what
is wrong. Whatever IL loving and
good is easy enough to God. and 90 the
loving redemption OF His world. tho
coming to His children that they
might be able to come to Him. cannot
have been hard.
This leads US to speak not only OF
the fact. but Of the purpose OF the
Incarnation. st. John says Of the d.
vine Word not merely that He came.
but that He came "unto His own"
And SO when II IL said that Christ
came to His own 1t IL all humanity
that stands crowded in behind the
Jews and claims that name.
And this statement contains two
truths. The first truth 10 the essential
unity Of mems life and Gods. and 50
the essential glory Of humanity. Christ
came not merely to man. but into man.
Man had failed OF being GodIike: God
then would be manlike. and SO the
frst truth that God and man belonged
together should not be lost for want Of
assertion.
Do not be misled by An unworthy
estimate Of man. God did become man.
and therefore manhood must be es-
sentially capacious Of divinity. Christ
worked. 50 work must be honorable
Christ cared for the body. and 50
the body cannot be IS vile as men have
called It. But there IL a closer and
tenderer meaning In these words. They
mean that Christ came in response to
the pressing call Of need. for He came
unto His own, and In q true sense
whatever needs you Is your own. So
the mother talks OF my boys" the
teacher Of my pupils" the worker Of
my poor" That 70 the warrant by
which the Saviour claims W. He came
because. whether we recognized It or
not, we needed Him, and that summons
brought Him here He took them. He
forgave them. He holds them. and
nothing shall pluck them out OF His
hands.
And now we turn to the result OF the
Incarnation. as it il pictured In this
great descriptive verse. There are
two classes: 'He came to His own, and
His own received Him not: but n many
as received Him. to them gavS lie
power to become tho sons OF God"
There they are-those who received
Him. and chose who refused Him
Even He could not make those take
Him who would not Behind every
thing else that settles . mans destiny
lies the power Of his own decision. Not
even God, coming to . soul belonging
to God, IL necessarily 50 powerful but
q man may not. In his obstinacy. re-
sist and turn away. That II the sert-
business Of Christ's coming. II forces
US to seek decisions He com .. ard
we must accept Him or reject Him.
For judgment I am come into this
world" He declared
That il ono side, and the other Is.
"As many q received Him. to them
gave He power to become the sons Of
God"
The sons Of God, that 10 what We
want to be. and We can be that BY
tho power OF the Incarnation II We
accept Christ He viii teach ~ HIS
truth. He viii give ~ His Law. He
viii help VI 70 0Ssy It. We shall see
Him. and ~ he said Himself. he VINO
has seen Him has seen the Father.
Tha. II the salvation Of the incarnsse
Christ
Football At Randolph-Aacou - just
one championshtp after another.
John Harvard came down from Bis
stately chair yesterday long enough 70
his worst tnrasning but one
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