Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-12-19

everywhere erected to be the abiding
place of Jesus, while he is shut out
from the hearts of men. Mr.. Gronlund
spoke also of the letter-perfect creeds
in which Jesus is offered harbor, while
| in the soul of humanity he is given no
resting place He deplored that Christ
mas time has in late years come to
mean merely a season of festivities.
with no thought Of the significance OF
the great event of Jesus birth and it's
consequences on the spiritual life Of
mankind He spoke as follows:
I'm our text we read that there was
i no room for Him in the inn. The Lord
was crowded out. And someone has
suggested that this incident at the birth
of the Savior is SYMBOLIC of the tragedy
of His whole life and of the continued
! relationship to Him today. The story
explains that He has been excluded
! from the central place. as the son OF
| God, He has come to give the world
| light and therefore we may say that
He has been hustled into the outer
courts. He has been crowded out. And
we may further suggest that the only
place in which He can make His home
today is in the inn Of the soul; the Sc
cret rooms of the personal life.
SOCKS Inn OF tHc SUut
Now what do we offer the Lord il
! the place of a room in the inn! we
I build Him stately, material temples
! We expand boundless treasure in their
| erection. Art joins architecture anc
the structure becomes a poem. The
| tender colors add their riches to the
| cries out, Here is q house for Thee
O man of Nazareth, Lord of Glory
Here is the home / have built fol
/ Thee!' And if the soul would only lis
ten there comes back the panied re
Spouse. Where is the place of m,
rest saith the Lord. The Most High
dweleth not in temples made with
hands. ] dwell in the high and holy
place, with Him also that is of con
| trite and humble spirit The Lord OF
Glory seeks the warm inn of the sou
and we offer him manger of stone.
1.-THE home which He seeks is moi
the splendid, ritualistic home that We
try to build for Him. If the soul would
only listen it would hear the Lords
| reply, My son give Me thine heart.
He seeks the inn of the soul--shall we
offer Him a ritualistic manger!
"Or, once again, we build Him the
massive house Of stately creed. The
building is solid and compact. All its
parts are firm and well defined and
they are welded together with passion
ate zeal and devotion. We are proud
of it's construction. The creed is al
the more beautiful because of its form
and the centuries only add to its sig
nificance and glory. We all earnestly
for every stone in the holy fabric and
say, Here is the creedal home for Thee
8, King
"rf the soul would listen reverently
and quietly, this would be the response
II would hear: When the Son Of Mar
cometh shall He find faith in the
earth?' That Is what the Lord liz seek.
| ing. He seeks not creedal statements
but personal faith. He seeks the per
son and the heart. So do we offer Him
all these substitutes in place of tbs
dwelling He seeks. II these are al
we have to offer, the Son Of Man hath
nowhere to lay His head. We offer
Him the hospitality of a big outer
creed, but there Is no room for Hin
at the inn.
LET us look even more closely at the
kind of entertainment the Lord desires
let me quote for our guidance the WORD
| Of the Apostle Paul. Know ye not "
are in the temple Of God? This is the
| house our Redeemer seeks: the won.
derfuf shrine of the soul. Let us look
inside that inn for it has many rooms