Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-02-25
The Love of God

Text John 3, 16.
God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.
In the old testament God is known
under two names, as Jehovah and
Father AS Jehovah, he is the holy one
Of Israel, expressing the holiness Of
God The Jews revered this Jehovah,
and had a dread of Mount Sinai, the
mountain of thunder, smoke and light
ming. Jesus Christ, however, revealed
God to us as the loving father and
thus we are not come unto the noun
tain that burned with fire, "but unto
Mount Sion, and unto the living God,
and to Jesus, the mediator of the new
covenant.
God Loved the world, Because He
Created Tt
Tn the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. God loves his
creation. He created it for a purpose.
Not only to enjoy himself, not only in
order to exercise his omnipotence, but
for a purpose. Everything in God s uni
verse to the Christian Theist is full of
purpose and design. The mineral king
dom is for a purpose, in as much as it
grows the vegetables, which has its
| foundation in the mineral world. The
vegetable sends its roots down into the
mineral world, and from that dark and
inanimate world takes the substance
that vitalize the vegetable. The miner
al exists to grow the vegetable. The
vegetable exists to furnish food for
the animal The animal kingdom de-
rives it's food from the vegetation of
the earth. Grass and flowers, besides
beauty serve the purpose of practical
need, as food for the animal Kingdom.
The animal in turn, again furnishes
food for man, the crown of the erea-
ton, Thus we may see that all the
Kingdoms of nature serve plan, %
purpose. Man in turn, exists for an
other kingdom, and that is, the king
dom of God. 1t is inconceiyable that
tho desires and the alongings in the
human soul for immortality should ex-
ist only subjectively, without Objective
realization. The universe is full OF
purpose and of design -.
We are aware that zoology eiassiles
men with the animal. Kingdom: AM
malta class, Bimana, order, Mamalla'
Rut in the ewes of the creator he Is
Infinitely higher than the animal
Wherein does the true dignity Of tins
creature existq Not in his bodlly
strength. A little piece of foreign mat
ter between the parts of his own body
a little clot of blood on the braln, d
little flash of electricity, and ms
strength is gone. Why is it that the
world should bow before himF why
sbonId the lightning obey his direction
and Niagara willingly submit to fet,
+orsq WHY is it that the gold stored
in the deep recesses of the poWels u
the earth shall be dug out ana dlSP,ay
ed ON the wrist of this Blmana -
is the intellect and the spirit OIL lL.Ii man
that constitutes his true dlgnity' VIZ
. hodv alone man is an animal, put
With a spirit and intellect ne Is an
immortal soul. God loves man pec4uSe
10 l. +be crown of creation, emanaOlnS
erono +be bosom of eternity, enuoW9u
IN God like entities. The vegetap!e
is determined, the plant IS dete[IilnouI
in its relation to air and suhllsn' IA
mineral by its roots, anu s'oin'
leaves. It cannot move -, or.
An animal organism is hlgher oi
7or +ben the plant. 1t has organs oA
1onomotion, and thus may change lts
-,osi+ion relative to other OBJECTS III
tbe world. 1t has organs OF sense, aug
may smell, organs OF slsht' SehSe
hearing that put it in reiatlon ~ "a va
oers. and vet, the animal IS delefhliiou,
limited. cannot reflect. upon aus P"Ss
cvneriences. When the animal S neeos
are satisfied it does not think any
farther. But what about MANI VINO can
find limitations to his environment
He diqs into the innermost reeesses
of the bowels of the earth ana reVealS
TO ms the hidden strata OF the rocks
He harnesses the cataract, so that
street cars and dynamos may serve 70
tho comfort of this Bimana he
his thoughts to distant emma,
or India. yea beyond the most distant
stars The glory OF man is his self de-
He is greater than Mars,
or Jupiter, or Sirius, or the most 10
lossal fixed stars. Jupiter Is determin-
ed. the planets and stars and millions
ol suns are determined. The creator
flung them into space and there they
whirl around their axis ana move IN
their appointed orbits mechanically de-
But man alone is not deter
mined. Unhampered he traverses the
globe. and where his feet will not car
~ him, the genius Of man invented the
railroad and the steamship, and the
electric spark is told to use the wings
IF the ether and to carry the messages
If man from ocean to ocean.
God loves the world because it fell
md he wants to WOO it back again. An
creator could have destroy
"a Adam and Eve and could have ere
atcd another race that would havel
been obedient. Instead. he chose to re-
deem the world, and thus made it pos
sible for you and for me to live. The
possibility of committing sin or sb-
staining from iniquity existed in his
self determination. Man is not a slave, a
1ut free, moral agent 1 am capable