STUDY X. HELPING MEN SOLVE DIFFICULTIES ABOUT CHRIST.

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth." (John i. 14)

PART 4 IS THE INCARNATION IDEA INCONSISTENT

WITH REASON?

My inquiring student admitted that all of these things said about Christ seemed to be logical and seemed to be substantiated by facts. But still he could not accept the idea of an incarnation. "This," he said, "is opposed to all reason; we have nothing anywhere else in life corresponding to it." Is this really true? If it is true, then a man would be justified in rejecting it. Mind, I do not say we must demonstrate all we believe, but I do say that no man who respects his reason (and it is God-given) can accept any theory which cuts square across every pronouncement of that reason. Before we can finally rest, we must come to see that the thing is reasonable, though of course we may not be able to demonstrate it, for few things are demonstrable.

So deep is this need of an incarnation bedded in human nature that the religious world has continued to believe in it, though frequently enough on insufficient grounds. Even in those religions whose philosophical systems deny the incarnation idea the human heart has found some way to circumvent the philosophies and find an incarnation in fact. This makes us feel that there must be something fundamental to human nature in the conception.

So long as we think of nature as simply made up of material forces, an incarnation will seem to be a break in the uniform action of those forces. But we have learned to

think of nature as material forces plus a divine personal will; or better, we think of nature as material forces shot through and filled with a divine will. In other words, God dwells in the universe and permeates all things, and the final reality is not material but God. If this is granted, as I believe it must be, then the physical universe is simply the expression of God. God not only dwells in it, but through it we see God. What man of us who has stood on a mountain top and, looking away into the distance, seeing range on range of mountains that pile themselves together in majestic splendor, as he looked has not somehow felt that he was in the presence of god? A deep awe steals over the soul, for God is looking forth in majesty from these mighty hills. Or what man of us has not stood and gazed at a flaming sunset and somehow felt that God is there? Beauty and grandeur are completely non-utilitarian; their one purpose seems to be to reveal God. The whole of nature seems to show forth God. Now this is an incarnation. This is God taking on material form and looking forth on men. One has well said: "The incarnation idea is essentially that of the unseen universe looking forth on us from the seen." If this be true, and the unseen God is daily looking forth on us from the seen universe, there cannot be anything unreasonable in the incarnation idea. If God can look forth on us from material nature, is there any inherent impossibility in his looking forth on us from a much higher realm—that of personality?

The facts which we have found lead us to believe that precisely this thing happened in the person of Jesus Christ, and God looks forth from that personality upon the world.

STUDY X. HELPING MEN SOLVE DIFFICULTIES ABOUT CHRIST.

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John i. 4.) "For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself." (John v. 26.)

"The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly." (John X. 10.)

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John xiv. 6.)

"But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ; and that believing ye may have life in his name." (John xx.

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PART 5. JESUS'S CONSCIOUSNESS AS THE
GIVER OF LIFE.

HAVING seen who Jesus was, and having made ourselves sure that there is a reasonableness in his claim, we can now turn to ask what Jesus Christ thought he could do for men. One of the remarkable things about Christ's teaching lies in the fact that he clearly identifies himself with his message. He and his message are one That is, he not only comes to reveal God, but he says that in him is the God life. He not only comes to reveal truth, but he is the truth.

No other religions can show any analogy to this. If Mohammed did not live, that makes no difference now, for the system does exist; but if Christ did not live we have no Christianity, for he and the message are one. Mohammedanism is the religion of a book; Christianity is the religion of a person. When Gautama the Buddha was nearing death he said to his followers: "Whosoever shall adhere unweariedly to the law and discipline, he shall cross the ocean of life and make an end of sorrow." When Jesus Christ was ready to ascend he said nothing of the law, but "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." There is a vast difference here. "In him was life," full and abundant. He felt sure, therefore, that he could pass that life on to men.

The scientific student goes into the laboratory, and, taking his formula, tests it to see if it gives the proper results. If he follows the conditions laid down, he gets the results. Another man, who tries the same formula but does not follow the conditions in full, fails to get the results. He allows an error to slip in-some precipitate or acid or what not. But if every man who meets the conditions of the formula finds the same results, we say the formula is correct.

The men who have met Christ's conditions, have taken him at his word, have acted as he asked them to act, have always found him to be the life giver. The fact that some men may have halfway followed directions and failed to find life does not discredit Christ's claim. The test of reality is broad experience, and experience proves that Christ can do what he claimed-give life to them.

Christ, then, is not simply a perfect man who lived and died nearly two thousand years ago. If that were all, we could not be sure that we would not outgrow him. He is life and the life giver. He is the inspirer and imparter of the highest and holiest life we know, and hence cannot be outgrown. He is final and unsurpassable not alone because he presented the truest ideals, but because he alone can impart to us the life which appropriates these ideals. Our spiritual growth will not be beyond him, but more completely into him.

If Christ, as thou affirmest, be of men

Mere man, the first and best but nothing more-
Account him, for reward of what he was,
Now and forever, wretchedest of all.
For see; himself conceived of life as love,
Conceived of love as what must enter in,
Fill up, make one with his each soul he loved.

See if, for every finger of thy hands,
There be not found that day the world shall end,
Hundreds of souls each holding by Christ's word
That he will grow incorporate with all,
With me as Pamphylax, with him as John,
Groom for each bride. Can a mere man do this?
Yet Christ saith, this he lived and died to do.
Call Christ, then, the illimitable God,

Or lost!

-Browning's "A Death in the Desert."

Personal Thought: Have you ever given yourself over completely to this life-giving person, so that he could fill you with his own life?

STUDY X. HELPING MEN SOLVE DIFFICULTIES ABOUT CHRIST.

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again. Wherefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new." (2 Cor. v. 14, 15, 17.)

"But they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint." (Isa. xl. 31.)

PART 6. SHALL WE CULTIVATE THE LARGER LIFE?

To those of us who have come to know God as a Father, Christ as a life giver, the Holy Spirit as a guide and comforter, surely the apostle is right; all things are become new. These messages have been written in the hope that they might give expression to some of the experiences which others have had but have not been able quite to put into expression. Through them I have hoped that men and women who may study them will be impelled to go out and report their experiences to others in simple fashion, now that expression for such experiences has been found. I am hoping that by such relating of experience others will be led to know Christ.

For a moment to-day, however, I want to turn aside to say that your experience must be a growing one. You cannot live to-morrow on the experience had yesterday. Day by day you must be renewing that experience. You would not think of trying to live for all the remaining years of your life on the friendship experience that you had last year