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nature of man ever known any change? Was not man made out of the dust of the earth and has he not always a relation to mother earth? Is it not written, “ Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return” ? Was not the earth cursed for man’s sake, and does not every man who wipes the sweat from his brow, wipe away God’s testimony to him of the curse that rests upon him? Does this nature of man ever change? You cannot find it in the Scriptures nor in human experience. Six thousand years have not modified it. Education, so-called, and the refinements of civilization have 'not eradicated it. “ Earthly, sensual, devilish” is the testimony of God. Does God ever change it in His own dear children who have confessed their sins and yielded obedience to the law of the new life? 'No. The Spirit lusteth against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit and these two are contrary one to the other. One is. from above and the other from the thorn and thistle cursed earth. Is it not far wiser for us to recognize and confess facts and be done, with the effort of seeking to change the character of the soil of which we are made by intellectual efforts, and seek to bring men, women and children into fellowship and surrender to the new law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus? Neither climate nor environment can change the thorn and thistle nature of the earth while the curse remains, nor can culture nor conditions, be jthey ever so good, change tlie thorn and thistle nature of man. He must be born from above. It might be profitable for us to ponder a little upon this theme, and see whether any of us are wasting our efforts in chopping at the weeds and spending our earnings and God’s money in a vain attempt to change His law. Many of God’s dear people, in our land, and many missionaries in the foreign fields are working with the wrong kind of implements in a useless task; seeking to make the world better by hoeing the weeds. Millions of money is being worse than wasted along this line. We need to understand God’s unchanging laws and adapt ourselves to them. He has given definite instructions to us. His orders are simple
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