FLEEING THE WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 28, 1 February 1913, Page 14

FLEEING THE WORLD.

.By R. J. CAMPmaL, SLA.) i Preached at the City Temple.) PART IT. T; is an a-liso-lute spiritual necessity ; r : h<- eon] should bo able to make ;•.::. nl;i' return from the busy ways of I;.■ :-. ,:i.l b<! completely alone with God. Jir-ii- knew this so well, and attached co miii-ii importance to it, thai. Ho did not hct-i'.ate to lot everything cl-o pro in | or.ior to secure it. "I'omi , yv apart by i yourselves."' Hp said to Iliri disciples. •"ojJ rrst awhile." 1 They might bi> full Of enthusiasm for their work, and un-Bp-aring in their zoal to get on with it. but ll' , made then] lay it aeide and retin- into silence and inactivity; the Bertie of the world were a* clamorous .is pvpt, men "wpre Peeking Him up and .-trfferers wen , waiting to be heal- <•<!. multitudes asking for the bread, of 3ifp, but Ho left them and wont avray into the wilderness or to the mountainlop*, and communed with <"rod and Hie own soul in solitude. There never ivs« anyone more independent of the world than .T<i?iis. notwithstanding Ills solicitude on its beh.ilf. He dwell a.part from it. the centre of gravity of THs life wae outside it. He he-Id all its interests ]oos*dy becaii~.' Ho viewed them from the standpoint <>i* the transcendental world. SPnUTTAL PRODUCTS OF DISIIiLUHl ORIENT. In >Fr Arnold P.onrjoti's- TomarJcable book. -The Cilimpw." , tie central idea is that of depcribin<r the experiences of a man who finds hirasolf temporarily freed from the body a.nd id privileged to ascend, into cloee anion wit-h the ail-pervad-ing spirit of eternal blessedness and truth. He is snppoeed to have died under t}ie stress of e-ome strong emotion caused by a painful domestic scene. His life riad lonij been a sorrowful one, full of disappointment and weariness of heart. Kverythino- had gone wtoh£ with him: none of his hig-hest hopes had been realised: his ifeUow6hi-pe with others. which had always been comparatrvely ferw, were iorturiajr him: friends had playwl him false: hope and aspiration had .peri&hed Tvithln him. In oonsecfnenc<> he had grown utterly diegiisted with life, became embittered, almost cynical, nated the world, and wanted to I Jiave done with it. For years he had lived in it without being of it, and without cither it or trying to help it- much —feeling, perha-pe. tha-t it was scarcely ■worth helping. But once out of the body, he saw things with new ■vision; lit-Ue. by little all his illusions vanished. The world •was as dreadful as beiore, but as he moved away from it ana worked upwards through the several spheres in which earthly desiree -vrero ideally fulfilled, he began to 'learn that earth "was only a factory wherein 'beautiful spiritual products were being ■wrought out in anguish and tears. The only real things in life were the enfoldment of Divine love, tenderness-, compaes:on, and all the thousand sweet or sublime modes in which the one spirit of all pood manifests itself in human experience. AH else, he saw, was only scaffolding, hus-k, externality, miet, and shadow. And presently, when he woke in the flesh again—for he had only been in trance, not dead —it was to turn with a new simplicity and warmth of feeling to the. poor sod world he had formerly de£;>;*ed and give himself to it afresh, but without any of the former pain and horror he had experienced from contact with it. He iwanted none of its rewards, "w as no donger inxpo»9ed upon by ite glamours or angry with its deceits; he caw through all its appearances to the ■wonderful and awe-inspiring reality behind. The last words in the book are— referring to the once-powerful attractions and repulsions of earth upon a eensitive spirit—"But I had seen God." FREEDOM FROM THE WORLD. This is my word to you this* morning, dear friends. Yon need to withdraw TDUTselves from the wonld at times in order that' you may come back to it •with renewed power and a truer perepectiTe. If you eamiot withdraw in bodT you must -withdraw in spirit. Do Bot Ivt it s-nck your personality into its vortex; keep clear of its entanglement*: pay no court to its s-hajoe and pretences: ibe not afraid of its threats and penalties: take care that your soul remains .UThf-etterec by its, allurements. It is always tx-st to btiSd your soul in the ■backgrourid of y§iir actrvifcies; keep it more or lees detached from and a-bove its occupn-tions: gnard its independence jealously lest you find it gone.

To be of much service to the world we must hold loosely, and never let it dominate us at any time. But never Joatbe it either; never make the mistake of thinking it contemptible: it is our heavenly Father's workshop in which heavenly glories are being prepared. Never retire from h in any misanthropic spirit, but only to recover your soul and TetuTn to your task refreshed and strengthened from on high. What you ought to do when the burdens of life become too much for you is really to drop them for a while and go into" the inner sanctuary and shut the door upon tbe wordd. Stand off from your concerns; give your perturbed spirit time to regain its equilibrium; rest and be tranquil in the Divine Presence, and by-and-bye the peace and power of the Infinite will steal quietly into your being, like the silent incoming of a migbtv tide, and fill you with new ilife. new hope, new confidence, and give you-back to the w-rrld again with holier vision and purpose, and a consciousness of illimitable Divine reserves for all the work you are called upon to do.