The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1915-06-10
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sERaoM DELIVERED
CONTINUED from page 4

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ferent figure:'.We all, beholdmg
tne glory OF the Lord, are trans
formed into the same image"
Primarily he is upbraiding the
Jews for their blindness in read
ing the scriptures. When Moses
came down from the mount the
skin Of his face shown so bright
" that the congregation could not
look upon him. So he put a veil
over his face. So says the apos-
tle, when Moses is read, the veil
is upon their hearts," and his
conclusion is that only by look
ing to Christ can it be removed.
| have chosen THIS text because
this is one of the insistent de-
mands of the present day. At this
time We are asking. What does
the world demand of us?" Does
it demand intellect? OF course it
does. 1t also demands the plod-
ding spirit. But we must not for
get that it also demands godli-
ness. With this application in
mind have chosen this text.
We can not deny that trans
formation is possible, both in the
life and character of an individ-
ual, for the law of change is one
of the most potent in the uni
verse: In national affairs this is
true. We are living in a different
country than that Of a hundred
years ago. 1t is noticed in the
habits and characters of men. A
returned missionary was impress
sed with the beautiful old women
in his native land. Heather wo-
men grow ugly as they grow old,
because OF their unimproved
hearts and vacant minds. But the
greatest transformation is that
which results from higher ideals.
for these are the patterns for our
lives. Herbert Spencer said that
by no political alchemy can we
get golden conduct from leaden
Instincts" Change a mans ideal
and the gambler becomes the law
abiding citizen, and the drunkard
becomes the provident husband
and father. Hold a beast before
you as an ideal, and you become
essentially beast; hold up the
Saviour, and you grow like him.
We naturally think first of the
physical transformation, and we
find that the law operates in this
realm; for by the outward ap-
pearance we can often distinguish
between one of good habits and
one of the opposite. But appear
ances are subject to change with
a change Of disposition, a fact
which is sometimes illustrated by
the painting. of Leonardo De Vim
els Last Supper" Three years
elapsed between the painting of
the face of Jesus Christ and that
of Judas Iscariot; and he after
wards discovered that he had US
led the same person as the model
for both Three years of evil
thinking had changed him beyond
recognition.
1t is mental transformation.
When Saul of Tarsus was young
he consented to the death of the
martyr Stephen. But a quarter of
a century afterward we know him
as a tender hearted lover of men,
the result of Christian thinking.
But it is essentially spiritual,
transformation: and this is es-
pecially applicable now, with the
future an unopened book and the
contents of that book depending
on your use of your opportunities.
Growth is natural; not to grow is
unnatural, and the only way to
rise above the temptations of the
busy world is to grow in spirit as
you grow in other things.
Professor Drummond in his
Natural Law in the Spiritual
World" has chapter on Con
formity to Type The apple
which fell from Newtnn's tree,
Newton's dog Diamond, and New
ton himself, AL began life at the
same point. But after they had
taken form, they all conformed to
the ancestral type. Then he said:
There is another life that fol-
lows the same laws. AS the bird
life builds up a bird in itself, so
the Christ builds up Christ in
the inward nature of man. When
a man becomes Christian the
natural process is this: The liv-
ing Christ enters his soul. De-
velopment begins. The quickenmg
life seizes upon the surrounding
elements and begins to fashion
them; and according to the law of
conformity to type this fashioning
takes on specific form, and
until Christ be formed
in u.s. +" This is but the scientific
putting of the principle of spirit
ual transformation as embodied
in the text. z
Our next question is "How?"
First, it is by beholding, and the
suggested by the apostle,
while not direct, has the same eff
feet. 1t is by beholding as in
a mirror" Some of our largest
telescopes are rejecting rather
than refracting, and we can see
the heavenly hOdioS nv lonkinp at