THE KING’S BUSINESS
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That is pragmaticism at its . best. Taking this man as our authority in our present study, we shall endeavor to discover some of the great truths taught by him and seek to find as to whether or not they can stand the test of what is best in our modern think ing. If Christianity is true it means everything to us and it is worth our while' to give to it the best thought, brain, and heart at our disposal. If it' is not true the sooner we discover the fact for ourselves the better. There is nothing to be gained by holding on to false conceptions of life and its pos sibilities. There is nothing one needs more than deep convictions concern ing life and its responsibilities. We cannot have convictions apart from honest thought. Religion in our day is becoming more and more the mere embroidery of a life abandoned to other interests. This is fatal to life and must be corrected if our age is not to be hopelessly damned. It is the result of a false conception of life and is already resulting disastrously. However, it is encouraging to find that some of the greatest thinkers 6f the age are raising a warning voice and calling men to repentance. If we can encourage a few to llsten to these warnings and to honestly face the facts of life as presented by Luke and then be led to deeper convictions regarding the fundamental facts of the Christian religion the effort will be infinitely worth while.
He was also a Greek, with the Greek’s cultured and broad outlook on life. This is the element which men recognize in his gospel when they speak of it as “the Gospel of human ity.” He speaks to the race and sets forth Jesus as the Son of Adam. He also had a poet’s mind which made him a literary artist. His writings are full of poetic pictures. No wonder he has long been the artist’s patron saint. In addition to all this, he had the advantage of the friendship of the greatest Christian of all time and one of the very strongest personalities -in all history. He was Paul’s intimate friend for many years, and conversed with him concerning all these eternal verities of which he writes. No one could be more perfectly equipped for the task of stating the great Christian facts for the mind of our day. The form in which this scientifically investigated fact is presented is also very, interesting and instructive. In the Gospel we have the Christian fact presented. It is the story of Jesus as God manifested in the flesh, and that is the Christian fact. In Acts we have a statement of how this fact was in terpreted by the men of Christ’s own day, and the results of this interpreta tion in the experience of that day. So we have in the first century the Christ of history and the Christ of human experience combined by this master ful mind in a most instructive way. “The very God! think, Abib; dost thou think ? So, the All-Great, were thé All-Loving too— So, through the thunder comes a human •voice Saying, ‘O heart I made, a heart beats Here !
“The God-Man” By ROBERT BROWNING
Face, My hands fashioned, see it in My self ! Thou hast no power, nor mayst conceive of Mine: But love I gave thee, with Myself to love. And Thou must love Me Who have died for thee!’ ”
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