Charlevoix county herald., 1915-10-09
|9bort 9ernrons
FOR A
SUNDAY Dalf-Nour|
Theme:
CONSCIoUsNES SIS OF GOD.

Theme:
CONSCIOUSNESS SIS OF GOD.
BY THE REV. ROBERT RODGERS.
Text: I'VE have not 90 learned
Chrlst."-Epheslans 4:20.
The thought with which I am i'm
pressed, and with which / would i'm
press you-is that Christ-the God
man-stands facing the world of men
and women as the greatest and most
important factor in human life. Ev-
erything we do should be done in a
consciousness of His presence; every
thing we do will be judged by Him.
and His judgment win be visited upon
us and be felt by us. This we have
learned of Christ, If we have heard
Him and been taught by Him. When
! speak of Christ. l mean to express
the thought that comes into our
hearts and minds when we speak of
God.
This Is the most important mes
sage that can be delivered to a man
If he can be assured of its truth
and made to live under its inspira-
tons. When l open my Bible. its
first words tell ,the great story, I'm the
beginning God created the heavens
and the EARTH" and as man has
learned the knowledge of the heavens
and earth, of the mighty force, the
beauty, the bounty in supplying all
that Is needfl for the millions of
mankind, the laws, which are so won
enter into this knowledge of nature,
he speaks tof God with alteration and
reverence. The infinite God of in.
finite wisdom, infinite goodness is our
only explanation.
The greatest power Of the might
est human intellect sinks into insig-
nificance before the ultimate analysis
Of drop Of water or grain of sand
when the scientist intimates to US
what Is involved in it's creation. /
think we can understand the cry of
Browning, 20 World as God made it,"
All is beauty! or Wordsworth's
words in! the Excursion" when the
wanderer. full of spirit of worship,
says, The clouds were touched and
In their silent faces did He read un-
utterabbe love!" In the same spirit
Ruskin speaks, ut is quite certain 1t
Is all done for us and for our per-
petual pleasure" How near into the
presence of the Infinite God these
men have come who have been able
ties Of natures. From Job to David.
and from David to the last thoughtful
student in the earth's book, has come
this feeling of neariness to God and
happiness and comfort in being mes
tied in the everlasting arms.
The thought that l am trying to
convey Is not so much that our minds
shall rest on the wonders of nature,
but that the mind shall advance,
through these things, into the con-
seriousness Of God-the supremacy of
the Infinite the Fatherhood of God.
There Is one test, and one alone,
which will satisfy men Of the charac-
ter Of any object. by their fruits
We shall know them" When Robert
Fulton, a century ago, speaks of steam
navigation, men say, let me see what
you can do. The Clermont steams on
the Hudson, and men were satisfied Of
his sanity and wisdom. For a cen
fury men have been speaking of flying
In the air, a few have believed ii pos.
sible, but with millions of doubters
have said, we will wait and see. And
now We know 1t can be done because
we have seen 1t.
Let us see! What are the effects
of this new thing? In law, medicine,
science, the same test is required. 1t
Is also Gods way of judging Christ
said of trees what He meant to say Of
men: A good tree cannot bring forth
corrupt fruit, neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit. There
fore, by their fruits ye shall know
them" 1t Is this universal standard
Of judgment-God's judgment and
mans judgment-that St. Paul Is u.s.
ing for his appeal in our epistle for
to-day. He is appealing to men who
were Gentiles or heather, but who
have recently learned of Christ the
Son of God, and given to Him their
allegiance. New things are expected
from their new discovery, their new
faith. Let us see what your new
faith or religion produces. The whole
believing world, with St. Paul. looks
on anxiously. How much II meant to
that early band of prosecuted follow.
ers, who were condemned and charged |
with hideous crimes, with being pesti
lsntial fellows, corrupters of people, |
How shall these few new converts
act? And the unbelieving world was
also looking on, ready to find and |
magnify the slightest wrong, amazed
to see the slightest improvement. II
is one Of the mighty things of the
past to which we can turn our minds
and from which We can draw comfort