Pulpit Messages Christianity and Life

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22707, 4 August 1948, Page 9

Pulpit Messages Christianity and Life

1 (Contributed by Minister*' Association.) TEX T. "When Jesus was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, -If thoii hadst known, eve" thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unlo thy peace!' but now thev are hid from thine eyes.'" Luke 19.41. Peaceful Living-

The Rev. J. G. B. Talbot, in the course of an address at St. Barnabas Church, Makaraka, on Sunday, said: "Tlie above text from the Gospel for the day shows the tragedy of the people of . Jerusalem in not knowing the conditions for peaceful living. In those days peace to them meant being rid of the Roman occupiers of their country. Today, peace to the Jews means the removal of the Arabs who have lived in the country for over 1300 years. In international affairs we see the. same misconception which leads nations to think that peace can be brought about through the adjustment of borders and the enforcement of certain ideologies on people. "But peace is not a mere absence of war. It is a positive and spiritual quality which is a by-product of right living, based on the moral values which our Lord taught and revealed in his perfect humanity. We can have collective peace only when these qualities are possessed bv individuals who make up the nations" “There are some who denounce dictators and the aggressiveness of other nations. Yet these very same people are dictators in their own homes and pursue an aggressively intolerant attitude towards their neighbour. Because people do not know the things which go to make for peace, they contribute to the causes of the malady from which the world is suffering today. The prayer of St. Francis of Assissi which begins with these words, “O, Lord, make me the instrument of thy peace. Where there is haired let me sow’ love’, could well be used by us all."

God’s Love The following is an address given by Major E. R. Elliott at the Salvation Army: “The majority of men believe In God! Life as wo. know it must have intelligence and will behind it. Since prehistoric times men have accepted too existence of A Supreme Being, what has exercised man’s mind and resulted in much speculation is the truth concerning the characteristics of God. What is He like? Is He really interested in man? Is the Christian insistence that God is the Father justifiable? These and similar questions have occupied the minds of most men a* some time or another, particularly when bereavement or trouble has come upon them. "In many minds God has assumed a character which Is utterly alien to His nature. This misconception of God begins very early m life. Countless children are taught by their parents, for obvious reasons, that He is like a severe schoolmaster, noting every misdemeanour. He is like the maid the mother sent to ’see what Johnnie was doing and tell him not to’. Tne adolescent too often thinks of God as a ‘wet blanket’. Maturity looks upon God as ‘all right for those who are made that way’. Yet underlying all these misconceptions of God "is that firm conviction that He does exist. "How can we learn the truth concerning the nature of God? It is a postulation accepted by all who believe in God at all, that God is perfect. If we can find the embodiment of perfection we can say, with assurance, that that, is God. Now, whether we are Christians or not, we must admit that the character of Christ was perfect. He Himself insisted that He had come to reveal God. ‘He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father', He told a man seeking after God. If there is one thing the life and death of Jesus has revealed, it is that whereas the love of God is such that it will go to anv lengths to make it possible for man to enjoy the best that life can give, it is also a righteous love. The religionists living at the time of Christ’s earthly life, with all their zeal, missed the two fundamental elements in God’s love. They thought of it as exclusive and not universal, and they failed to recognise the righteousness of it. God is Love. Yes. But God is also righteous.

'lf you want to enjoy His love you must adorn His nature. This is possible only when Christ is enthroned quite deliberately and definitely as Lord of your life. If you would enter into an understanding of the love of God and the full meaning of life, you need Christ.’’