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第7章

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That picture contains the three great elements which go to make up

a perfectly rounded Christian life。  It is not enough to have the

〃root of the matter〃 in us; but that we must be whole and entire;

lacking nothing。  The Angelus may bring to us suggestions as to

what constitutes a complete life。



I。



The first element in a symmetrical life is WORK。



Three…fourths of our time is probably spent in work。  Of course

the meaning of it is that our work should be just as religious as

our worship; and unless we can work for the glory of God three…fourths

of life remains unsanctified。



The proof that work is religious is that most of Christ's life was

spent in work。  During a large part of the first thirty years of

His life He worked with the hammer and the plane; making ploughs and

yokes and household furniture。  Christ's public ministry occupied

only about two and a half years of His earthly life; the great

bulk of His time was simply spent in doing common everyday tasks;

and ever since then work has had a new meaning。



When Christ came into the world He was revealed to three deputations

who went to meet and worship Him。  First came the shepherds; or

working class; second; the wise men; or student class; and third;

the two old people in the temple; Simeon and Anna; that is to say;

Christ is revealed to men at their work; He is revealed to men at

their books; and He is revealed to men at their worship。  It was

the old people who found Christ at their worship; and as we grow

older we will spend more time exclusively in worship than we are

able to do now。  In the mean time we must combine our worship with

our work; and we may expect to find Christ at our books and in our

common task。



Why should God have provided that so many hours of every day should

be occupied with work?  It is because



Work makes men。



A university is not merely a place for making scholars; it is

a place for making Christians。  A farm is not a place for growing

corn; it is a place for growing character; and a man has no

character except that which is developed by his life and thought。

God's Spirit does the building through the acts which a man performs

from day to day。  A student who cons out every word in his Latin

and Greek instead of consulting a translation finds that honesty

is translated into his character。  If he works out his mathematical

problems thoroughly; he not only becomes a mathematician; but becomes

a thorough man。  It is by constant and conscientious attention to

daily duties that thoroughness and conscientiousness and honorableness

are imbedded in our beings。  Character is



The music of the soul;



and is developed by exercise。  Active use of the power entrusted

to us is one of the chief means which God employs for producing the

Christian graces。  Hence the religion of a student demands that he

be true to his work; and that he let his Christianity be shown to

his fellow students and to his professors by the integrity and the

conscientiousness of his academic life。  A man who is not faithful

in that which is least will not be faithful in that which is great。

I have known men who struggled unsuccessfully for years to pass

their examinations who; when they became Christians; found a new

motive for work and thus were able to succeed where previously they

had failed。  A man's Christianity comes out as much in his work as

in his worship。



Our work is not only to be done thoroughly; but it is to be

done honestly。  A man is not only to be honorable in his academic

relations; but he must be honest with himself and in his attitude

toward the truth。  Students are not entitled to dodge difficulties;

they must go down to the foundation principles。  Perhaps the truths

which are dear to us go down deeper even than we think; and we will

get more out of them if we dig down for the nuggets than we will

if we only pick up those that are on the surface。  Other theories

may perhaps be found to have false bases; if so; we ought to know


it。  It is well to take our surroundings in every direction to see

if there is deep water; if there are shoals we ought to find out

where they are。  Therefore; when we come to difficulties; let us

not jump lightly over them; but let us be honest as seekers after

truth。



It may not be necessary for people in general to sift the doctrines

of Christianity for themselves; but a student is a man whose business

it is to think; to exercise the intellect which God has given him

in finding out the truth。  Faith is never opposed to reason; thought

it is sometimes supposed by Bible teachers that it is; but you

will find it is not。  Faith is opposed to sight; but not to reason;

thought it is not limited to reason。  In employing his intellect

in the search for truth a student is drawing nearer to the Christ

who said; 〃I am the way; the truth and the life。〃  We talk a great

deal about Christ as the way and Christ as the life; but there is

a side of Christ especially for the student:  〃I am the truth;〃

and every student ought to be a truth…lover and a truth…seeker for

Christ's sake。



II。



Another element in life; which of course is first in importance;

is GOD。



The Angelus is perhaps the most religious picture painted this

century。  You cannot look at it and see that young man standing

in the field with his hat off and the girl opposite him with her

hands clasped and her head bowed on her breast; without feeling a

sense of God。



Do we carry about with us the thought of God wherever we go?  If not;

we have missed the greatest part of life。  Do we have a conviction

of god's abiding presence wherever we are?  There is nothing more

needed in this generation than a larger and more Scriptural idea

of God。  A great American writer has told us that when he was a

boy the conception of God which he got from books and sermons was

that of a wise and very strict lawyer。  I remember well the awful

conception of God which I had when a boy。  I was given an illustrated

edition of Watts' hymns; in which God was represented as a great

piercing eye in the midst of a great black thunder cloud。  The

idea which that picture gave to my young imagination was that of

God as a great detective; playing the spy upon my actions; as the

hymn says:



〃Writing now the story of what little children do。〃



That was a very mistaken and harmful idea which it has taken me

years to obliterate。  We think of God as 〃up there;〃 or as one who

made the world six thousand years ago and then retired。  We must

learn that He is not confined either to time or space。  God is

not to be thought of as merely back there in time; or up there in

space。  If not; where is He?  〃The word is nigh thee; even in thy

mouth。〃  The Kingdom of God is within you; and God Himself is among

men。  When are we to exchange the terrible; far…away; absentee God

of our childhood for the everywhere present God of the Bible?  Too

many of the old Christian writers seem to have conceived of God

as not much more than the greatest mana kind of divine emperor。

He is infinitely more; He is a spirit; as Jesus said to the woman

at the well; and in Him we live and move and have our being。  Let us

think of God as ImmanuelGod with usan ever…present; omnipresent;

eternal One。  Long; long ago; God made matter; then He made the

flowers and trees and animals; then He made man。  Did He stop?  Is

God dead?  If He lives and acts what is He doing?  He is



Making men better。



He it is that 〃worketh in you。〃  The buds of our nature are not

all out yet; the sap to make them comes from the God who made us;

from the indwelling Christ。  Our bodies are the temples of the Holy

Ghost; and we must bear this in mind; because the sense of God is

kept up; not by logic; but by experience。



Until she was seven years of age the life of Helen Keller; the

Boston girl who was deaf and dumb and blind; was an absolute blank;

n

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