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distress was unknown,, and as long as that will continues to be done in heaven, pain, and tears, and sorrow, and crying, and death, have no place there. The only relief from the present world-wide sorrow and despair waits on the an swer to the prayer, “ Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The one who lives close to the center of the will of God is not mournfully sighing about the hard pressure of that will, but is gladly, and joyously living in “ the days of heaven upon earth.” In the practical experience o f such a one, the will of God is-proven, or shown to be good, and acceptable, and perfect. The effect of a holy life will be to bring the Christian who lives that life into fellowship with Jesus Christ, and to say with him, “ I delight to do thy will, O God.” Thus will the salvation of Scripture be mani fested upon the earth. T he P ractice of a H oly L ife The practice of a holy life is fully revealed in the re maining portion of the Epistle to the Romans, 12 :3 to 15:13. First, Paul speaks of the practice in personal conduct, 12:3-21. Two words will describe this-section, humility and love. There will be a humble, unconscious self-forgetfulness as the Christian is reminded that he is a member, with others, of the one Body. The members have a community of place, a well marked diversity of operation, and a definite harmony of purpose. The recognition of this pro duces that spirit of humility by which each considers the other better than himself. There will also be that spirit of love, sincere and with out hypocrisy, which leads to the manner of life described in verses 9 to 21. In these verses there are twenty-four ways in which love may reveal itself. These are not a mere collection of spiritual rules and regulations; they cannot be ( Continued on page 422) "Mine” B y E velyn I. D uffield “All are yours; and ye are Christ’s ; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:22, 23). The love that from my Lord doth flow, The joys the world can never know, The peace He’s promised to bestow — Can these be mine? Long years, o f gladly serving Him, A life by Him made free from sin, The fulness o f His joy within — Can these be mine? Joint-heirship with the Father’ s Son, Then, when my work on earth is done, Eternity with that loved One — Can these be mine? Yes! if I rest on Christ divine, My God has said, “All, all is thine, And thou art Christ’s, and Christ is mine ”— Yes, all is mine. —Life o f Faith.
Satanic (1 John 5:19). Its conduct is folly because it lives only in and for the things of time and sense. Mate rialism is the logical religion for it. The rich fool spoken o f in Luke 12 is an example; thrifty, hardworking, hon est, he revealed his folly by living for material things alone in utter forgetfulness of his soul. Its end is destruc tion. The broken column sometimes seen in cemeteries is a fitting emblem of the unfinished character of the life of the world. Taken from his work before that work is finished, the man of the world lies down in death and the work remains forever incomplete. On the other hand, death for the Christian is merely an incident in his life; he falls asleep but to awaken and resume the work upon which he is engaged. Its spirit is selfishness. It pursues its happiness and self-pleasing wholly unconscious of be ing dominated by Satan. Thus, the world being what it is, it is impossible for one to manifest salvation by a holy life while being conformed to the world. Hence the exhorta tion is, “ be not conformed to this world.” Positively, “ be ye transformed by the renewing of vour mind.” This is the only possible way to avoid con formity to the world. “ As a man thinketh [not as a man doeth] so is he.” It is not merely a different mode of living but a differ ent motive of living; not merely to shun the fashion, that is, the folly, but the spirit, or the selfishness of the world. It is allowing the mind of Christ to control and sway the life, and the measure in which this is done will be the measure of the manifestation of salvation. To think as He thought, to feel as He felt, to love as He loved, to live as He lived, will be manifesting salvation, that is, it will be manifesting Himself. In order that this might be, the mind must be renewed; the inner man must be corrected. Setting the hands of a watch to the correct time is a mere temporary expedient if the works of the watch need atten tion. The folly of much that passes for holiness today is revealed by the thought given to the other practices while the inner principle is forgotten. Habits and practices engage the full attention and this or that is not done, or this or that is done, in the effort to secure a holy life. But holiness consists not so much in the outward form of life as in the inward frame of heart. When the Christian is “ transformed by the renewing of the mind,” he will in stinctively, without much thought concerning habits and practices, fulfill the good, and perfect, and acceptable will o f God to the capacity of his own measure. T he E ffect of a H oly L ife The degree of holiness attained will be the degree in which the will of God is proven to be, in the Christian’s own experience, good, and acceptable, and perfect. The word “ prove” means “ shown to be,” that is, in the prac tical experience. There is a widespread feeling that the will of God is something to be dreaded and is filled only with distress and pain to the one who lives in it. When untoward circum stances prevail the temptation is to sigh mournfully and declare, with “ Christian” resignation, “ The will of the Lord be done.” But from whence comes all the sorrow, and distress, and pain in this world? These things were not native to the Garden of Eden; all was delight and joy ousness 'there, with no hint of sorrow or distress. And these things are surely not native to heaven; there all is joyousness, and peace, and pleasure forever more. From whence, then, do these painful and distressing things come? They come from the fact that the will of God is not done. As long as that will held sway in the Garden of Eden the
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