SUNDAY READING

Taranaki Daily News, 15 August 1931, Page 18 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING

By the late REV

A. H. COLLINS

“PRE-JUDGMENT OF CHRIST.”

■‘Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? —St. John, 7:51.

“Doth our law judge a man except it first hear from himself and know what he doeth?” It should not, for one of the elementary rules of common law is that a man is treated as innocent until he is proved to be guilty. Hearsay is not admitted in a court of law. But it is Christ’s fate that He is judged from ■hearsay. Men will not come face to face with Him and “hear from Himself, and know what He doeth.” It was so in the days of His' flesh. The Pharisees judged Him by extraneous standards. “What was His birthplace?” Galilee! That was'sufficient. “Out of Galilee arisOth nd prophet.” What was His 'schooling? Nazareth! That ended it. “Can.any good thing come out of Nazareth?” “What was His attitude towards church ritual?” He ignored it! “He eateth with unwashed hands.” That settled the matter. The dress and observances of the popular sect were not . regarded, and, therefore, “He was despised and rejected of men.”

It was very unjust, and even silly. But these are typical examples of the way •men judge Christ still. A man’s opinion about the Church is allowed to determine his relation to Jesus Christ. Some professing Christian acts inconsistently and even unworthily, and therefore the Lord himself is forsaken. Some theological definition cannot be accepted, and so,men turn their .back on “the Lord of life and glory.” Men judge Christianity through churchiauity; and seem unwilling to come to the contemplation of Christ wi.th “an open mind.” But,a small prejudice will often produce a monstrous perversion. ,A slight. obliquity, in a lens will turn a portrait into a carieatqre; and a small prejudice will, blur the vision of the Master so that “when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” THE MATCHLESS PERSONALITY. “But doth our law judge a man, except it first hear from himself and know what he doeth?” How, then, shall we judge the character and claim of Jesus? How shall we approach the Matchless Personality 1 Well, first of all we must bring the right implement. In other words, we must bring to the question a sensitive heart. If you would rightly judge a sunrise or sunset, you. must not look, through frosted window panes. A lieart stained with evil is not a fit medium through which to see “the Light of the Wprld.” A week .spent in worldliness and sin unfits the soul to rightly estimate Jesus Christ.

Then, in the second place, we need to bring an open mind. Al] the blinds must be up and all the windows open. I mean that we must be perfectly candid :and sincere. The lens of a telescope may be perfectly fashioned and perfectly clean; but we must see the cap is off. A nan must rid his mind of perverting prejudices and draw near to the Lord with a single desire to see Him as He is. IMAGINATION NECESSARY. And there is a third thing which needs, to be said. We need an alert imagination. No man is capable of judging any great figure in history without the exercise of imagination. Suppose you wish to appreciate the work of Shakespeare, how would you proceed? You would seek

to recreate the world in which thc poet lived. You would study the geography, the dress, the language, the ideas of his time. In other words, you call your imagination to your help. Well, you want to “place” Jesus Christ, and to do this you must bring to the quest a sanctified imagination. Recreate the world in which He moved; recall the men who were His contemporaries; compare their thoughts, their ideals, their words and aims. How does He stand, in comparison with them? ■Was He. moved by their motives? Did He share their ambitions? Did .lie seek their ends? Was He on their level? This is not all. , With .the . equipment .of a ■sensitive, heart, an open mind and a quickened imagination, we.need to “hear Him” —hear . Him : patiently, and hear Him through. ■ “Let the. Son of Man speak.” .. .Never . mind for the moment what ■others - have,. said that. He .said. Dare .to investigate His teaching for yourself. Take the four o-ospels and hear what Jesus Christ said about God, about men, about yourself. Listen to Him as He speaks of life, and love, and duty, and death, and the hereafter. Listen while. He tells us what we are, and what by the mystery of grace we might become. . CHRIST AS A WORKER. When you have honestly done this, then take this further step .and pass from the oratory to the laboratory. Christ not only said things, He did things. He was net only, a teacher, He was a worker, and to judge Him aright w'e must see what He ,has done. Look at the man whose life flowed like an open s&wer and now runs like a cleansed river | pure as crystal?' Consider the man whose I will was like a'pithy reed and rioW is converted into the fixedness'of 'h' bar of ‘'■steel. Study the gay, fast ‘woman, who has been' changed into a' strong and glorious saint. These transformations have taken place, and are taking place still. Investigate' these eases without prejudice, and as you find, so judge'. And one thing more.- When you have listened and investigated, follow it up with experiment. Is it fair and reasonable that a man should spend months and even years in wordy warfare about Christ, and never once submit himself to the severe and serious test of personal experiment? Surely one mark of candour in dealing with Christ is to see whether His teaching works, whether His promises make good. TRYING OUT THE TEACHING. Take Christ’s maxims for the regulation of life, and see if there is anything in them. Take His -teaching about prayer, and try it, say for twelve mouths. He said that if any man came to Him, he would , “not be cast out.” Well, try the experiment. Come to Him and see what will happen.. Surely this is the way of honest enquiry. Do ; not allow yourself to be the slave ,of , unilluminated prejudice. Do not be guided by hearsay and rumour. Do not take ■anything secondhand. Seek a first-liand experience of the things of Christ, He will not fail you. If the witness of 2000 years is worth anything, it,serves to prove that Jesus Christ can do everything He claimed to do. He can cleanse a stained heart. He can reinforce a weak will, He can enlighten a darkened mind. But do not accept any man’s “ipse dixit.” Make the experiment, for yourself. “0 taste and see that the Lord is good.”