Evening star., 1918-07-27

lives obedient to Gods commands.
While there may appear to be many
laws to be kept in reality they are
one, Thou shalt love-" for the one
that loves will obey in all things. =,
The selection from Johns gospel
brings the scene Of the upper room
before our vision for study and con-
sideration. The men who responded
to His call were about to face another
test. Judas, not Iscariot (who had left
and who never asked spiritual Ques-
tion), was puzzled by the effect that
some men believed and others did not
He presented his problem to the Mas
ter. who answered his question by
pointing out that it was a matter of
men being willing Ito love the highest"
The disciples had the same hopes
concerning the coming of the king
dom as did their nation. for it is
evident that they expected some pub
lie manifestation of Christ's glory
that would convince all men and the
nation. Christ tried to show them
that He was seeking to give an in
ward and spiritual manifestation Of
Himself which required love to dis
Germ the meaning of the gospel. "win-
realizing more and more the joy and
comfort of divine fellowship" Obedi-
ence is the way to understand Christ,
but without love men cannot under
stand the way. Love enables men to
see the truth and respond to Christ's
see because they lack love, which
men must possess If they keep
Christs commandments.
Jesus assures them that they will
obtain blessings as a result OF their
obedience to Him Those who have
proved their love by a life of obedi-
ence. Jesus said, would enjoy the
privilege of having Him as a daily
companion. The man who does
Christs will abideth forever" be-
cause of the oneness that exists be-
tween Christ and the Father. In fact
the whole of life calls for a life of
obedience to every duty that is
there" have come to realize the
truthfulness of luminous sentence
of Curtis: "A mans country is not
a certain area of land, with rivers.
lakes and mountains. A mans coun-
try is a principle, and patriotism Is
loyalty to that principle" The true
patriot loves the principles for which
America stands and does not hesitate
to be willing to make any sacrifice
or perform any service because of his
love Of country and her unselfish
position in the present war. He obeys
because he loves. SO every one who
love by service.
James brings home to the professed
disciples the truth that profession
must be demonstrated by service. In
the opening chapter of this epfstle.
which has well been called 'the
gospel of common sense" the apostle
has told his readers that they must
be doers as well as hearers of the
word. There is a twentieth century
spirit in James, who would test n
by the results of their life. True
Christian life is a continuous proc
ess of service, because love of Christ
delude himself by trying TO prove
by false standards that his life
would be accepted and approved by
the Lord Jesus. 1t is more than the
external likeness seen in a trench
mirror, but the inward spiritual like
ness that is reflected by the study of
"the perfect law of liberty" The man
who studies Gods word continuously
finds out what sort of a. man he ought
to be and will seek to conform his
life to the standards which God has
given to men in the Bible
James himself was rigidly, scrupu-
lously performing every detail of the
ritualistic requirements of the Jewish
faith, but he insisted that ones reli-
gion was vain If the warshiper's
heart had not been changed by divine
grace. The unbridled tongue revealed
the lack of religion in the heart. Ac-
cording to James, religion has two
fold expression: christian benefl-
cence," revealed in ministering to the
widow and orphan and Christian
character. that tries to keep un-
its contamination and degrading
vices through obedience to Christ's
call.
toupyriehAedo