The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-10-13

Christ" Others will answer, ITO
know God" But to answer that ques-
ton in the light of the New Testa-
ment, we say that the heart of Chris
tianity is to have a personal relation
and a personal touch with Jesus
Christ. Christ said, 81 will build My
Church" This was the fundamental
purpose of his life. How did he build
his church? He WI ote no bork, he
painted no picture, he organized no
army, he formed no ritual or creed.
How, then, did he build his church?
He gathered a few lives about him,
saturated and filled with his spirit,
and said of these will / build my
church. Paul speaks of this as being
a mystery. "Christ in you, the hope
of Glory" And Paul uses the word
mystery in this way: he meant a
truth which had been hidden, but now
revealed. The Greek mysteries were
revealed only to the initiative, to a
few select, and they were strictly
kept from the multitude. But Pauls
mystery was revealed to all. 1t was
an open secret. Christ in you, the
hope of Glory Not few, but for
the many, but you say Glory is some
thing which can only come to the man
or woman who is greatly gifted and
there are few among us who attain
glory, very few. 1t is a rare thing
to meet with a man or woman who
has an idea of attaining what the
world calls glory, and yet the Apostle
Paul says here in the text that the
hope of Glory is set before each one
of us, even the humblest among us.
Just recently here in Kansas City,
we observed Old Glory Week, the OBJ
ject of which was a rebaptism of the
! spirit of Americanism. But Old Glory
Week in all of its observance was for
the white man only and not for the
black man. We were not permitted
/ to go to Electric Park and there have
the fires of patriotism kindled within
us by the war exhibits and the pag-
eants. 1t was Old Glory week for
some; it was Old Shame week for
others. The shame of ostracism. The
shame of unjust discrimination; but
| here is Glory for all. "The Hope of
Glory What is this glory, which
every Christian, even the humblest
among us, may attain unto? L an
swer first of all, it is the glory of
character, and character is the sum
total of mans good qualities.
We hear great deal in this day
and time about valuation, land valua-
Il, a
l do know that there are some inter-
ests in our moral life which need re-
valuation. Take this very word Glory.
1t needs revaluation. 1t is like coin
which has long been in use and which
by use has worn thin; lost its weight;
so the word Glory has become cheap
ened and debased. Glory. When you
hear the word mentioned, what do
you think of? You think of rank, of
title, of birth and wealth; but these
are the mere trappings of the man,
and not the man himself. They are
his clothes. so to speak. A mans real
glory depends not on what he has,
but on what he is; not upon his pos
sessions, but upon his character The
glory that depends upon externals is
uncertain, temporal, rich today poor
tomorrow, in the public eye today, in
obscurity tomorrow; but the glory of
goodness is permanent. 1t is beyond
even the reach of the cold icy hand of
death. The righteous shall be held
in everlasting remembrance. Fame,
title, health and wealth all may go,
but character remains.
A man who had been rich. came
home one night and said to his wife:
Wife, we have lost everything, and
the sheriff will come tomorrow and
sell us out" But that man had a
brave, courageous woman for a wife,
and facing that desperate husband,
she said to him: Husband, will he
sell me?" and the man said NO"
will he sell your" And the man
said mo" will he sell our dear
little children?" mo" 'Will. he sell
our characters and our hope and our
faith in God?" NO" Then said the
courageous wife, you have simply
lost the external. We have the real
things left: Manhood, womanhood,
childhood. character, hope and faith"
"Christ in you, the hope of Glory"
You will notice that the Apostle says
"in you," in the indwelling Christ;
not the Christ simply in the Bible;
mot the Christ of the church; not the
Christ who is simply a figure on the
lpages of history; but the Christ who