Year: 1875

| IL is possible JnrOuSn our very
admiration for Christ to set him too
far from us. Getting sehse Of the
divine beauty of His life, men bow
down before it in alteration BY
that very worship they are in some
degree. e.drawn into likeness to what
they so venerate. But, in setting up
Christ as a divinity to worship, we
may fail to realize that he calls us to
enter into the very life that he led.
Yet this was his teaching. lie does
not represent himself as. standing
isolated by his supreme excellence.
On the contrary, his highest word
to his disciples was that they were
to become one aoitb him. When his
earthly life drew to an end, and his
familiar friends had, through their
intercourse with him. been filled
with the sense ofthe heavenly beauty
OF his character, he gathered them
about him to speak the supreme
words which are recorded in the lat
ter chapter of Johns Gospel. And
the burden of these is that there
to be the closest union between
them and himself. 1t was to be a
union not through affection only,
but through such absolute likeness Of
character and inmost self that they
were to be enc with him. And he
prays that the same Intimate union
in which he has lived with the
Father may also be theirs; Chat they
may be one, even as We ate one"


AT an earlier time he intimated
the slime truth in a very striking
manner. Zebedee's sons petitioned
through their mother for tie highest
place in his kingdom. He asked in
reply question too deep for them
to fathom. care ye able to, drink
of the cup that shall drink of, and
to be baptized with the baptism
that l am baptized with?" III igno-
rant confidence they answer, "We
are able" And he tells them, aye
shall drink indeed of my cup; ard be
baptized with the baptism that ] am
baptized with" In the very moment
of their selfish ambition lie fcresees
Tor them an entrance intb the height
of selfsacritice that was in him.


Paul was filed with this great
hope, of attaining to the height OF
Christ's own lift. "Walk in love-"
he says "as Christ also hath loved
u.s. Declaring in one passage that
in him dwelt all the fullness of the
Godhead, in another he prays for
the Ephesians that they may be filed
with all the fullness of God. He
desires that they and he may togeth-
er come "unto the measure OF the
fullness of the stature of Christ"
Nothing less than that highest ideal,
embodied in Christ himself, will
satisfy Paul. To suffer with Christ;
to die with him, to rise with him; is
his desire. He rejoices that in, his
sufferings for the church he tS'rhay
fill up that which is behind of the
Affections of Christn-may take up
and carry Oh Christ's own work OF
suffering for others sake. So, too
John can fill the glorious future to-
ward which be looks with no higher
hope than this: GWe know that
when he shall appear we shall be
like him, ,"-"for,," he adds, 1--WE shall
see him as he isp---the immediate
sight and companionship of that di-
vine presence having power to draw
the soul into It's own likeness.


We do not get the full inspiration
of Christ's life until we enter into
this thought: that we are called to
that very life. We are to fill our
hearts with sense of the perfect
beauty that was in Jesus. We are
to get a sense of him as living in such
consciousness of Gods presence as
filled him with serenity, with power,
with Gods own spirit. We are to
understand that submission to the
Perfect viii by which he said "Thy