Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-04-05

Philadelphia Record:
With this Lesson We begin six
months course Of topical studies
about SONS Great Teachings Of the
Bsble. end they constitute one 81 the
most important courses ever outlined
Tor u.s. We are 10 spend three months
upon the great fundamentals Of our
faith The being and nature 81 God:
the relation 81 Christ to- God. the
work Of the Holy Spirit. ana 50 on
and then three months upon II prac
teal aspects of the Christian life.
They are all positive, constructive
atudies. and impel TO good. rather
than warn against evils. and teach
mot SO much that one Is responsible
fob the evil he does aa that be is re-
4aponsible for the good he ought 10.
achieve. BE ye doors Of the word, : Il
their thought And the beauty of
i these lessons u they can be lived.
II u natural to begin this course
l with i study Of the basic principle Of
E0ug faith: that OF God as our Almighty
/ Father. And God may be said to be-
our Father in three distinct senses;
I(l@ By creation Cd BIZ preservation,
land (3) by redemption through Christ
For, while God IL Father of all men in
THAT He ID the author OF their lives.
He iii In more intimate sense their
Father because He has given to them
Ieternal lift through Jesus Christ. His
Son. But how do we habitnaliy think
tOf God ]? As our Father. or as the Al
mighty one: OF His tender and prec-.
i0us relationship To us, or of His In
finite power and majesty? For our
Thought of God will make world Of
IdifTerence in our living John Fiske
tells us that III his childhood when
ever the word God was mentioned
There arose In his mind the image of
venerable bookkeeper, with white
flowing beard, standing behind high
desk and writing down the deeds Of
John Fiske. Truly such thought Of
God Is not exactly comforting, and yet
There are thousands Of people in this
world who have ais confused an idea
of God, which. II 1t Is not So grotesQue
as John Fishes. IL equally dtsquieting,
land all because they do not realize
mans true relationship to God as re-
lyealed by Christ that men are Gods
lchfldren, and the Divine Fatherhood II
| like the best fl human fatherhood
only infinitely higher and better.
But cod Is Father to humanity not
because RE made ali men, but because
| He made them kindred 20 Himself
And, however brief the record Of ere
alton is, the creation of man Is de-
scribed III such way that the fullest
truth concerning his nature may be
known. Three distinct movements
are recorded ii the brief but compre-
hensiye account. First, God formed
man of the dust; second, God
Ibreatiled into bis nostrils the breath
Iog life and finally, man became q
living soul. This first declaration,
then, must refer TO that activity Of
God which was the first process In the
making Of man, that namely Of His
Iuse III material already existing for
1.-The physical basis forming man Of
1.-THE dust Of the ground. But By what
/ ever process from lower to higher God
formed man on the physical side, that
lis. the animal basis, 1t IL not man In
1.-THE image and likeness Of God That
lphysical basis never became man
iuntiI the second Of these processes
followed, when God breathed into his
lnostrils the breath Of life,' and God
communicated to that which He had
formed of the dust Of the ground. His.
i Town life, and man became by that act
la living soul, In the likeness and
Image 81 God. But this inbreatIing
lof God was not merely that OF the
Iopmsnt of the whole physical organ
ism with new quality Of Divine life
breath OF the nostrils, but the envel-
(which created new being, 9 combi-
nation. strange and mysterious, OF
Idust and Deity: creature Of clay,
vet son Of the Almighty
Thus We see man Is essentially
spirit, even as God Himself is spirit.
land God is our Father not because we
lare BY creation the work of His hand,
hut because He has impaired to rs
lHis own life, and our real essential
and immortal selves are made in His
image and according to His likeness
IThe best idea 81 the personality Of
EGod which our language II capable Of
Egiying il summed up In Christ's words,
EsGod is spirit ands yet in search
lfor word that shall express what the
EInnnite Spirit Is to US, We must come
Iagaln To the words Or our Lord as He.
lreyeals to us the Eternal God, and
Iheax Him say. Your Father" and NY
Father. Oh. ii Ii i wondrOus thought
| for you and me, that Father was
Iyesus only name for God, either as
used BY Himself or Tor His disciples
las He taught them And His one DUAL
Lying adjective ii holy Or right
locus
Bat IL God is Gus Father, Why do We
mot trust Hing DO We fully grasp
THAT wondrous TRUTH II We could
say ne more than that we believe IN
lCod Almighty, il might not be entire
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