The Fundamental Principles of Christianity in the Light of Modern Thinking* By JOHN M. MACINNIS, B. D. III. THE MEANING OF LIFE.
G OD found fault with the people o f Isaiah’s day because they did not think. He said that the dumb brutes were more consistent in their activities than were His people because His people did not consider. It is very hard to get men to think in any age. Even in our own day, when men boast of their freedom of thought and intelligence, a very superficial study of conditions will reveal that much o f what men speak of as “ free dom of thought” and “ independent thinking,” is nothing but the result of superficial reading. The great flood of theological books that Come from the press in a single year contain com paratively little original thinking. This lack of thinking is particularly con spicuous in the so-called practical things of life. The average man is so driven by his immediate physical needs and desires for pleasure that he does not take time to stop to ask deep and searching questions about the meaning and value of the life that he is living. Yet, it is impossible for men to live life at its best without some clear idea o f its meaning and purpose. In order to build intelligent ly we must build according to plan and purpose. There is no sphere of life where this' is more true and impor tant than it is in the matter of the liv ing of life. If we would get the most out o f life we must understand its fuller relations and deepest purposes. Jesus understood and lived life in a deeper and fuller sense than anyone —........ •An address delivered by Rev. John M: Maclnnls at the Montrose Bible Conference.. Copyright, 1913, by John M. Maclnhis.
else who has ever lived. Therefore we naturally turn to Him and ask, what is the meaning of life as understood and lived by Him? The fact that he consistently embodies His interpreta tion of life in His own living makes it easier for us to understand the essen tial facts as set forth by Him. He is the truth concerning man. He is what man was intended to be. He filled life full. That is, He realized it perfectly. Therefore He Himself is our best interpretation of life and of its. meaning. While he did not write any exhaustive treatise on the nature and meaning of life He did live life so that He could say “ I am the life.” He is life in the sense that He embodies its principle fully and gives it perfect expression. His life, there fore, is a perfect interpretation of life and to understand it is to have the best possible philosophy of life and its true meaning. O f course, we are con scious of the fact that we cannot fully understand His matchless life. Yet, there are certain things about it that we can know and these are sufficient for the outlines of a real philosophy o f life! In the first place no one can study the life of Christ without seeing very clearly that its deepest meanings are found in His relation with God. He had communion with God. He spoke to God and God spoke to Him. This communion was vital in His life. It was as essential to the kind of life that He lived as are bread and water to the life o f the body. Jesus could not have been Jesus without that commu nion and relationship. That is an-
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