To be near unto God - pagina 241

human

and

magnificent revelareconciles us again unto man. There is the picture gallery of history, of the heroes in common life and of the heroes of faith, as the Apostle declares: (Hel. 13) "we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses," wherefore we should laj^ aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us." This is revelation of God even 3'et in fallen man.

in

tion

of

nature,

noble

human

bj'^

its

lives

And if love awakens in you real drawing love man as man, it is in virtue of the glory that is seen in man. the glory of God in human talent, in himian genius and in human heroism, pouring out its rays in human love towards you. There is something mysterious in your own self, for

is attracted by something equally mysterious in another, whereby 3'ou overlook his failings, forgive his sins, disregard social differences, and with the myterious power of love envelop him in the hidden parts of his being. And though this love can be spoiled and become itself a sin, it is in love for one who loves you, that the warm glow of Divine sympathy overpowers your heart, and the mystery of love in the Being of God reveals itself to 3'ou. At first it is a matter of choice. In it beginnings love is limited, narrow-hearted and repellant to others; a gleam of liffht, which casts correspondingh- the darker indifference for others as a deep shadow round about itself. This continues as long as love is still held in the meshes of selfishness. It is love^ from God, but it is not as yet love for the sake of God. Love for a few whom we deem worthy of our love, but it is not yet love for the neighbor, i. e. for man as man, a creature of God

which

233

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen