SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1201, 8 March 1895, Page 31

SUNDAY READING.

THE COMING UNIVERSAL RELIGION. By Rev. William Birch, D.D. “Thou shalt love God with all thy being; and thy neighbour as thyself.”—Luke x., 27. (Short R.V.J Is the religion preached by our Lord practical ? No, and Yes. It is impracticable if we are resolved to act unfairly in trade, uncharitably in social life or unkindly to relatives; but it is possible to every man, woman and child wishful to be unselfish at home and to deal squarely abroad. In private life, before God and in our dealings with one’s family and the world, we reach the true human condition only when our motives spring from love. I. The meaning of love. Though “the truth of truths is love,” yet, like electricity, it can be described only by results; In our text it means spirit-love. Man is a voluntary complex. While the beasts have body and brain, with an instinctive spirit which moves them in harmony with natural or invisible law, man has a free spirit, meant to be in sympathy with supernatural or invisible law. Affinity, which draws us to one’s kind, congeniality to those who have tastes like our own, with mate affection, are products of the brain; but the love which influences us to do God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven is an impulse of the spirit. In prayer, praise or preaching, this impulse is known by unction-enthusiasm, or the “ hoo’loo ” of our Welsh brethren, and in our daily conduct by a combined paternal and fraternal sweetness which glorifies God. Wisdom and genius are natural brainmachinery possessed more or less by every man, but love to God and our neighbour is a- latent force which awakes only when we behold the face of the heavenly Father as uncurtained by our Lord. If they were under the influence of unselfish love, our wisdom and genius would be moved for the best welfare of oneself and the world; and therefore, with divine prescience, Jesus showed that the only religion which can become universal is the one founded on the truth that, as God is our righteous and loving Father, man should be brother to every other man. When stripped of Jewish materialism, semi-pagan philosophy and mediaeval superstition, the teaching of our Lord can be grasped as an experience by any intelligent mind. 11. It is possible to love God. (1) He is our Benefactor. There are two kinds of love. One is in the child who loves his mother because she benefits him; the other in the mother who, because identified with the child, loves him with all her heart. In now referring to the first I submit that love to a benefactor is an instinct; for surely the babe who is not drawn to his mother is insane, and the frozen creature said to have bitten the breast that warmed it into life was a snake. If we have no love to a parent or any other human being, how can we love a God we cannot see and know only through faith ? As, therefore, we love a man or woman who has been good to or suffered for us, so we love God only when we as certainly know Him to be our Benefactor. We cannot, however, love a shapeless Something which fills- all space like the ether between revolving worlds or the air we breathe, for such an idea would produce agnosticism, or else the injurious notion that mankind, snakes and stones were as much God as Himself, and wickedness as divine as goodness. Our Creator does not personally fill nil space, but by beneficent,.

unchangeable law rules the universe and everything except wickedness therein, caring for all his creatures, angels, sparrows and men. He, however, personifies himself as the heavenly or SpiritFather who loves us with all His heart, and who, while seeking to evolve outf immortal character into unselfish mould, does not upbraid any of us, but with eternal hope waits until we come home to Him. Our Father has probably never been or will be seen, His beloved Son being the medium through whom He reveals Himself to angels and men. While believing that the person of God does not fill all space," yet, though I cannot scientifically explain it, when kneeling to pray, sometimes with tears and cries, I am conscious of being in the manifested presence of our Father and thkt I love Him because He loves me. (2) As our Benefactor, He frees us from the blame of sinfulness. Though admitting that our evil makes us unworthy to come into communion with' God, yet in quiet moments we ask, “Are we, who had no voice in our creation, to blame for our sin-

fulness ?” In answer, the gospel reveals that our Father gave the divine Christ-to-bear the blame in order that He might righteously pardon us and in our willing spirit graft unselfish love. When a leper desired to be cleansed so as to worship God in the Mosaic sacred place, the priest took two birds, and, killing one over running water, sprinkled its blood on the other bird’s wing, letting it go free, and then upon the leper. While the slain bird might be a picture of Christ suffering with and for us, the bloodsprinkled one set free may represent you and me, to whom God has given the liberty of children to come into touch with Him as the prodigal son with his forgiving father. Though they may not have heard our gospel, yet .the Hindu in his temple, , the Arab in his mosque, the savage in his hut, the tramp under a tree, and our gaol criminals, when they cry for mercy to the invisible God, are as certainly pardoned,

though at present they may not know it, as the costly-robed bishop who intones the benediction in a church. Perhaps the broken-hearted “ publican ” and. .the con.-,, trite tramp may receive more kisses from our Father than we elder brothers who are | reckoned the pious cream of the earth. Therefore we can, we do, love God, because He pardons us without uttering one unbraiding word about our sin. (3) As our Father He gives us the divine nature. An ancient Roman could legally adopt only a Roman, but God has adopted sinful creatures ; and now, because every human -being is an adopted child, our Father calls the whole world to turn from sin and be reconciled to Him. He has adopted us, not to give material things, which we can obtain for ourselves, or provide for one another, and not miraculously to save us from bodily accident or disease, which we should have ccmmon-sense to avoid, but to inspire or evolve His love in our immortal character. Because you arc children, come home! As we partake of the nature of human parents, so, through prayer and faith we partake of the divine love, which is meant to be embodied in us as sunshine in the strength, beauty, fragrance and fruitfulness of trees, flowers and vines. Therefore, men, and brethren, let us one and all hear our heavenly Father’s., voice saying—- “ Behold me ! lam worthy Of thy loving, for I love thee.”

111. It is possible to love our neighbour. Unselfish affection, like that of mother to child or friend to friend, is the

lever our Father uses to bring us on the higher line, where, “likewise,” we love our neighbour as the good Samaritan loved the man in distress; for we must first have unselfish love to a relative or friend before wo can love a stranger. With some little trembling, we do an act of quiet; goodness to another avlio has no claim on us except his need; and in thus imitating God we grow like Him until love to the fallen, suffering and lost becomes a second nature, while love to one’s family and friends rises to a joyful flame. In this we see a marvellous self-transformation. At first, we , were drawn to God because. He loved us; but now, we love Him not only because He loves us, but also, perhaps chiefly, because He loves the whole world. Like draws and is drawn to like. Do you say that God can have only one son like Himself ? No, no; the character of Jesus is not intended to be unique. God has evolved others who have been “altogether like their Lord;” and as he invites us all to claim the inspiring relationship of His children, every main, jointly with Jesus, may possess the spirit of unselfish brotherhood. Let us aim high! This gracious truth implies that no man has a divine right to monopolise God as certain priests claim to do, or to fence off His gifts from others who are in sore need. If we knowingly permit our neighbour unjustly to suffer, that unbrotherly neglect degrades our character. This is higher than the mongrel Socialism which prates of love to one’s neighbour only as a platform to drag others down and lever itself iiito their nest, and then ceases to talk of “ brother-men ” because it cannot squeeze any more out of them. Being a life member of certain Trades Councils and an international organisation, I have tried to help on the world-federation of civilised -labour, but in every country that idea has been thwarted by petty jealousy, grovelling ambition and asinine, occasionally demonleadership, because the men have not been inspired by unselfish motives; and therefore I see that the most speedy method of realising the ideal of brotherhood is to preach to master and workmen, and to rich and poor, the gospel of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of divine love through faith in the Fatherhood of God. IV. The result op this religion when

universal. (I) In general social life. — Honour and love would inspire us to do to others as we would be done by. To cheat would be criminal; to wrong a neighbour an act of lunacy. Instead of “ everything being fair,” that is, taking a mean advantage “ in love or trade,” we should seek to do the right to everyone because he or she was\ a co-child of our Father. The rich would gladly become poorer, and there would be no complaining in our streets. Injurious trades would cease for lack of buyers, and vicious temptations be muzzled. Prison punishment would be transformed into* wise disciplinary reform. Standing armies would have no civilised work to do, and hereditary lords be a memory of the past/. The unwise Poor System would be gradually abolished. Old folks would be honourably pensioned and crippled or infirm persons and orphans kindly provided for, while every able-bodied man would have employment at a living wage either privately or on Government remunerative works; and last, but best of all, each man might have a loving wife to cheer his heart and grace his home. (2) -In our inner self. Our personal communion with heaven, like that of the rose with the sun, would sweeten us with daily fragrance; goodness would make us

beautifully useful like the fruit of the vine, and indescribable “ unction ” sanctify our features with the halo of God. We should not worry about future resurrection, annihilation or angelic wings, but, unspeakably content with the present joy of loving God and our neighbour, leave tomorrow and the beyond to Him. In life or death we should commend our spirit into the hands of our Father, our only concern day by day as it came being to glorify Him by gracious love to our family and the world.

A higher or more beneficent religion cannot be conceived; in due time it will become universal because it is the embodied disposition of God.