Graham guardian., 1915-12-24

y&zaeeza2 2ssss2s& aezk 2 Corinthians 9:15
llRa9l0k RU2StLlJ There is an ap-
prOpriateness in
the general good cheer of the Christ.
mas season, the speaker said. The
happy custom of giving tokens Of love
and friendship prevails wherever the
story Of Jesus has gone. While some
may have been injured by receiving
bounties, few have been other than
blessed in the giving of them. Herein
we see cOrroborated our Savior's
words, "It is more blessed to give than
to receive. Acts 20:35
In our dealings with God, II Is nee.
essary that we realize our dependence.
our insufliciency. and His greatness;
and that We learn to go to Him as
dear children" upon whom He de
lights to bestOw His favors, and who
delight to receive these blessings and
to appreciate them with grateful
hearts, In every sense of the word
we are debtors to our Heavenly Fa-
ther, and always shall be. We can
never dispute the obligations under
which His loving kindness and tender
mercy have placed us.
Some possessed with a false pride
declare that they ask favors Of neither
God nor man-that they pay their way,
and wish always to do so. AS respects
our dealings with our fellowmen.
something of this spirit Is praise
worthy; but the proposition Is incon.
sistent with our relationship to the
Almighty. (Acts 17:2SD God provides
for His creatures on every plane of
being. The fact that He causes His
sun to shine on both just and unjust,
and sends the rain upon both evil and
good, thus providing for the world Of
mankind in rebellion against Him and
His authority, does not prove that ma.
lures laws are autocratic and that the
results could not be otherwise.
Gods mercies scattered broadcast
tell of His provision for the necessi-
ties of His creatures He fully ex,
plains why He permits His laws to
be interfered with at the present time,
why He permits adverse conditions
upon mankind. 1t is because of man
kinds sinful, rebellious attitude. be-
cause of the curse, the death sentence,
which He justly pronounced against
the first human pair. and because He
sees how present adversely and tribu
lation may be made instructive as re-
thn npnnndirrr eIr IN nf cir
Every Good and Perfect Gift"
Only those who have been in the
School of Christ for some time can
the force of st. James
Every good and perfect
gift comcth down from Above" Look.
ing about, we find many gifts and
blessings, but very few Of them are
altogether perfect, purely good. I'm
perfection seems to be upon everything
The Bible explanation of this con
lition is that mankind today are not
really samples of Gods workmanship |
deuteronomy 32:4), but are fallen. de-
Draved, imperfect through the original
sin of Father Adam and its entailed |
and blemishes upon his |
lOsterity. Gods good and perfect gifts |
ire seen only by those whose eyes Of |
understanding bare been opened to see |
Jesus, the great Redeemer, and His |
future week of Restitution-the de- |
Of death and everything con- |
lectcd Herewith, and the establish |
nent OF perfect life conditions such as |
fOd has promised 3:10-2l.
Those whose eyes of understanding
lave been opening see more and more
If Gods grace More and more do |
hey appreciate His gifts and favors,
His ''unspeakable gift"
What this gift is the entire Scriptures
et forth in various presentations. One
# the most forceful Of these is the
statement, The wages Of sin Is death;
,ut the gift of God is eternal life
Trough Jesus Christ our Lord"
A Gift Not Appreciated.
False theOlOgies have diverted from
his Bible statement that eternal life
5 the GIFT of God, and that He will
upply 1t only to those in harmony
With Himself. faIse theOlogies have
aught us that eternal life is II natural
that even the Almighty
Himself cannot destroy our being
his erroneous thought has distorted
II our reasOnings. and has left the is
ue rs between eternal life In torture
nd eternal life in bliss. But the
scriptures clearly define a different
Ssuc: namely, as between extinction,
and life which Divine
leroy and Love have provided for
hose in accord with the Almighty.
The gift of life is not offered by the
'ather directly. but indirectly through
he Son This Is the record, that
iod hath given unto us eternal life;
nd this life is In His Son. He that