The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-12-18

the portal of which is inscribed: "All
hope abandoned, ye who enter here"
But in heaven where the spirit shall
be refined and quickened an dexalted
to the utmost, shall be the keenest of
all its pleasures; the life of all its
delights, the spur of all it's exertions,
be absent Hope disappointed, there
shall be none, for hope shall be based
on certainty and the eyes of the soul
shall rest not on the fitting visions of
earthly bliss but on the clam reali-
ties of perfect knowledge. Hope de-
ferred, there shah, be none. No more
sickness of heart at long waiting for
the state of trial will be over, the
perfect work of patience will be ac-
complished and the hand which is
here, often stretched out until it
wearies and stiffens and can not grasp
the object it has reached will here
have but to open and be filled. Hope
in all its blessedness, in all its full
ness of joy, shall abide forever"
Faith and hope are not alone eter-
nal. Love abides. 1t is the eternal
for the human relation to God. If
faith and hope remain so shall love.
From God it sprang and to Him it
shall return. In each lover of God
through Christ flows this eternal
stream back to the Creator the bound
less ocean of love where each beliey-
er shall have fullness of joy at His
right hand forevermore. Love is the
al; Of nd Of
the spiritual nature hereafter. 1t is
the fulfilling of all duty 1t is the
crown and jeweled clasp of all per-
fection. "And so abideth forever
faith hope and love, these three. But
the greatest of these is charity. Paul
casts no shadow over faith and hope
when he exalts love to a place of pre-
eminence. When this declaration fell
hot from the mouth of the great apos-
tie, it was considered by the educated
| classes of Greece, as inordinate and
| unwarranted to think of love as the
greatest of all virtues. But passing
years have brought men of modern
thought largely to PauPs view of this
principle. 1t excels faith which looks
| through the present; it excels hope
which shines like star upon things
| to come; glorious things which re-
] main for the people of God.
Looked at from any angle, ]. is ac-
knowledged today by the most preju-
diced minds of Christianity that love
of mankind is the greatest principle
of this life at least. Even the villain
on the streets may break every stat
ute of the state; he may be dirty
rogue If he has a kindly nature. an
affectionate disposition, sympathetic
nature, you will find his victims
ready to give him another chance.
But the man that is Kissed and chased
from public gaze is the man that has
no feeling, no sympathy or love. The
popular verdict of today is that So
briefly and honesty are great things;
but greater than these is love.
The greatest of these is love be-
cause it is more like God. In fact
God is love. Faith and hope are hu-
man elements dependent upon love.
God is Independent of either or both
but He is love. This is one of this
attributes here and hereafter. Faith
| to the finite; love belongs to the in
finite. God is not faith; God is not
hope; but He is love. 1t makes us
love God. 1t is not faith nor is il
hope that makes us like God. They
are but the hands extended to God
in which the blessing of eternal like
| is placed. We are like God; partak
ers of his divine nature through love
1t is the pattern by which God ex
poets us to shape our conduct, the
source of good the center of diffusive
benevolence; the fountain whose
streams irrigate the earth; the sun
whose light and heat dissipate the
rigors of night and winter and dis
pense the blessings of day and sum
mer.
Love was the beginning of redemp
| tion and it is it's end. 1t extracted
Gods son from this bosom and of
fered Him as a ransom for all. 1t
brings Go ddown to man; it lifts man
up to God.
Paul, the master of Mars Hill, con
sidered love the greatest in influence
Forgetful of her own interests, char
ity goes forth as an angel of mercy
carrying healing in her wings to all
| suffering humanity. Her monument
is not in bronze but in the hearts of
her beneficiaries which shall survive
the crash of time. She seeks not her
own glory.
Love is greatest because it secures
obedience. ''If ye love me keep my
commandments" The slave served
or obeyed his master because he
feared him; the Christian obeys the
Lord because he loves Him. Faith
can not make men obey; nor can
hope; but love can. For the love
of Christ constaineth us"
We are witnessing the most dread
full exhibition of brute force in the
history of the world In its wake
kingdoms are disappearing; empires
are being dismembered; the precious
landmarks of antiquity are crumbling
before the fury of the European con-
| flagration. And the end is not yet.
A prominent banker, an infidel of this
city. met me in Paris in 1910 and
pointed out the glories of the old
world. To my surprise he invited me
ON trip at his expense. He lauded
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