THE IMPRISONED SPLENDOUR

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 520, 24 November 1928, Page 8

THE IMPRISONED SPLENDOUR

(Written lor THE SUN by the Rev. Charles Chandler, Assistant City Missio?ier.J Having read a very informative article on coal in a recent issue of a well-known Sydney magazine, in which the ivriter draws attention to the scandalous waste of many of the hidden properties of this precious mineral, a thought has occurred to me which I consider to be of some value for readers of “The Quiet Corner” in THE SUN. Coal, which looks so dirty and unpromising, has, within it, power , light, and heat; besides tar, coke, dyes and carbolic, not to mention a host of other commodities which, being a parson and not an . analyst, I wot not of. By many and varied processes these qualities are extracted, the value of which is almost incalculable. If, then, an inanimate piece of coal can yield 'such precious properties, hoto much greater must be the imprisoned splendour of the human personalityf J%sus said that the Kingdom of God is withinand, that being so, we knoio where to look when bidden to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” All growth is from within , outward —and not from without, inward. This is true of the growth of trees , and also of the unfolding of flowers. Dissatisfaction must ultimately dog the footsteps of those who seek externally what can only be found internally. Sickiiess and disease, poverty and despair, are but the outward manifestations of some interrial disruption in the thought-life of the individual. “Truth is within ourselves,” says Broivning. -“It takes no rise from outward thingshe continues, and then concludes his statement by sarjing that "to knotv, rather consists in opening out a way whence the imprisoned splendour can escape, than in effecting an entry for a light supposed to be without The annual icaste of the by-products of coal is infinitesimal in comparison with Man's criminal neglect of his inner spiritual life, which Jesus has designated as the “Kingdom of God ” Next Week: TAPIOCA PUDDING.