The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-06-13
COMMENCEMENT BEGINS
At ROANOKE COllEet'
Sixsy-third Annual Baccalaurcata
sermon By Rev. DIR. .sccgars,
of Columbia. 8. q.

Salem, Va. June 12.--The sixty
third annual commencement of Roa-
noke College began Sunday morning
with the baccalaureate sermon by
Rev. John c. seegars. d. D.. Of Co
lumbia, g. c. His text was John
Ia: 8, Q.
The deepest aspiration of a human
soul, he said. " for a vision of Goa.
Man through all the ages has been
stirred by this fundamental need. this
pang that cannot be aIlayed. As man
was the first thought of God. and COM
munion between God and man 10 the
eternal purpose of the Almighty, so
God Is the highest thought OF man,
and communion with Him tho deepest
yearning OF the soul. Man 10 indeed
! ever reaching out after the Divine.
He may fasten his hopes only upon
some hideous -caricaturc. but he will
never be satisfied until he ffnds sone-
thing that he can reverence and wor-
ship as God. As the universal ex-
perience of humanity attests. "All
come to rest in Thee; all flow toward
Thee: Thou art the end of all"
But personality cannot be satisfied
with a thought of God. nor with
view concerning Him. It demands
relationship and communion with q
person SHOW US the Father" Is the
universal quest of humanity, the
prayer at once the most daring. and
the most imperious OF the human
heart. Christ's answer to that ques-
challenges thought. 1t is absolute.
He that hath seen Me hath seen
the Father" Christ is the absolute
and final revelation Of God, the last
and fullest word OF God to man. He
Ia the Medium Of our knowledge of
God. and nothing more will be re-
vealed. In tho truest sense. therefore.
there can be no such thing as prog
ress In religion, that 10. a better and
truer religion evolving out of that
which is conferred in Him. Advance
in religion can be had only In It's eff
fects. not In its nature; In its appro-
Christianity In not q religion, but the
religion. because II not only enables
man 70 return to God, but In its Au-
thor presents God and man united
But to know Christ as a great histori-
cal figure is one thing; to know Him
as Saviour is another. Christianity Is
not mere dogma, a set OF phrases. 1t
rs Ike.
In the evening the annual address
before the Y. M. c. A. was delivered
by tho Rev. G. L. Brown, d. D.. Of
Kumamoto. Japan. who chose as his
theme. The call to service" The
counter to the standards of society
so completely that man IL Inclined to
look upon them as mere theories i'm
possible of application. Yet wherever
and whenever they are faithfully ap-
piled TO the problems OF life and test
ed to the end. they have inevitably
proved to be the only practical prin-
ciples by which II Is safe TO live. The
law of Christ cuts squarely across the
natural tendency of the human heart
by demanding Of every man that he
dedicate himself. not to a search for
sclfish ease. nor even to I career Of
selfish effort. but to a life OF unseIfish
service. Each mans talents are the
tools with which he must work, and
chaffng over personal limitations il
the greatest folly. The call to ser
vice is also the cali to sacrifice. The
symbol of the cross fs writ large
above every great achievement in the
realm of nature as within tho sphere
OF the human will. Tho raoe must
be run by every man, and tho Inn
pending sin that doth 80 easily beset
may be the popular sin. the fashion
able folly that all the world appinuds.
The world sorely needs men today
who are willing to serve and sacri
fee. The problems of the ages mus,
be solved according to the fundamen-
tai law OF Christ. and to do this will
require AZ great heroism AZ the world
has ever seen. 1t Is for the heroic
soul Of the youth OF today 70 answer
the call.
/ Both OF these able discourses were
marked by great earnestness and
power and held the close attention of
large audiences. The musical fea-
lures OF the exercises were especially
noteworthy. Many visitors are in at
tendance. The commencement sea-
son promises to be unusually inter
esting. IL