SUNDAY READING

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 66285, 2 October 1925, Page 8

SUNDAY READING

(By Gordonite.) THE LIFE OF CHSIST VI.—A WONDERFUL DISCOURSE (Continued.) The Hatefulness of Sin: “And I say unto you if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it off from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” The question that arises in connection with this statement is—what is the exact meaning we are to deduct from so startling an utterance? Did Jesus mean us to accept in an absolutely liberal sense the words that are here preserved for us? If he did, then no one is fulfilling this portion of his injunction to his followers. No man, no matter how ardent a follower of Christ he may profess to be,is immune from sin; at some time in his life some member of his body, thought, sight, touch, will lead to sinful inclinations. We can banish thought through the exercise of will power, but we can only banish sight by blinding or removing the eye. Is that what Jesus means us to do? I think not. To me it seems that the only reason Christ spoke in such strong terms was that he might make an indelible impression on the minds of his hearers, concerning the utter hatefulness of sin, and that he might lead them to see how essential it was for them to fight continualy against all sinful inclinations lest one member of their bodies result in their eternal banishment from the presence of God.

The Law of Divorce: Christ’s views on this matter are particularly interesting to us in these days when divorce is so common. Jesus has but little to say on the matter, but what he does say is very emphatic. No doubt divorce was fairly common even in those days, else Christ would hardly have thought it necessary to touch upon the subject so soon on his mission. According to Christ there is but one action that can give a man sufficient cause to divorce his wife, and that is because of fornication. If a man does divorce his wife except for this cause, and she marries again, he who divorced her has been the cause of her committing the great sin of adultery. How widely different this is to our present day standards. There is no sitting of the higher Courts of the land but what there is present a long list of divorce cases. The marriage bond has lost practically all its sacredness to some people, and on the slightest provocation, real or imaginary, a man can obtain release from his marriage vows. That which was intended to be the most sacred of all bonds between man and woman is being daily brought further into disrepute, with the inevitable result that in the not far distant future the pure home life of the good old davs will be no more.

The Taking of Oaths: Most of us are familiar in some way with the procedure of our courts. We have seen. a witness take the oath before giving evidence. To us, because of long usage, this has become an essential action before one’s evidence can be relied on. But if we pause for a moment we can easily see that the taking of an oath does not alter what a man intends to say. His mind is made up before he ever enters the court, and whatever lines his evidence takes, is the result of premeditation. For this reason, if we may be pardoned for saying so, the taking erf the oath is purely a farce. According to Christ this is a man made institution. and is an offence against God. In the light of Christ’s words here, a man’s dealings with his fellows should be so irreproachable that his Yes, or No, should be accepted without hesitation. What a different place the world would be if all men dealt with one another according to these standards. How much petty spite, backbiting, enmity would, be avoided, and all would work together in unison for the common good. The Law of Love: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate your enemy, but I say unto you, love your enemies.” Here is laid down a standard of life to which it is difficult to attain. To love those who are good to us is a natural inclination, but to .have similar feelings those who are openly at enmity with us is altogether another matter. , Yet this is the spirit Jesus desires to see in those who are professedly his follower —the spirit of love to all men, be they friend or foe. After all, if we show a spirit of love only to those who are good to us, there is no virtue in our action. The noblest life must be fashioned after the pattern of Christ, who in his death agonies could say concerning his enemies, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The Model Prayer: It is in this sermon on the Mount that we have preserved for us the pattern prayer of Christ. It should be our desire in our prayers, not to tell God our virtues, or the good things we have done, but to invoke his aid and guidance in all our ways. It is also clearly shown that man is dependent on God for his sustenance, hence the petition “Give us this day our daily bread.” Prayer presented after this pattern, and offered in sincerity of heart, is always acceptable unto God and will in due time bring its reward. The Dangers of Judging: “Judge not that ye be not judged, for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” How prone we are at times to pass judgment upon our fellowmen. How often in a fit of anger we commit them to all manner of punishment, and even go to the length of invoking God*s aid against them, little dreaming that these actions will ultimately reflect upon ourselves. How often also we spend too much time in picking out the faults in our neighbours and friends, withous pausing to consider that in all probability similar and even greater faults exist in our own lives. It is incumbent upon us

therefore that if we are to exercise an influence for good among our fellowmen, we must first bring our own lives to that state where they are above reproach, which can only be done by an earnest endeavour to follow the insti'uctions Christ has laid down for our guidance. (To be continued.)