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him. He who has determined to enter the spiritual kingdom will find
that all the powers and passions of unregenerate nature, backed by
the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Each
day he must renew his consecration, each day do battle with evil. Old
habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will strive for the mastery, and
against these he is to be ever on guard, striving in Christ’s strength for
victory.
“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth,” Paul
wrote to the Colossians; “in the which ye also walked sometime, when
ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.... Put on
therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all
these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let
the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in
one body; and be ye thankful.”
The letter to the Colossians is filled with lessons of highest value
to all who are engaged in the service of Christ, lessons that show
the singleness of purpose and the loftiness of aim which will be seen
in the life of him who rightly represents the Saviour. Renouncing
all that would hinder him from making progress in the upward way
or that would turn the feet of another from the narrow path, the be-
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liever will reveal in his daily life mercy, kindness, humility, meekness,
forbearance, and the love of Christ.
The power of a higher, purer, nobler life is our great need. The
world has too much of our thought, and the kingdom of heaven too
little.
In his efforts to reach God’s ideal for him, the Christian is to
despair of nothing. Moral and spiritual perfection, through the grace
and power of Christ, is promised to all. Jesus is the source of power,
the fountain of life. He brings us to His word, and from the tree of life
presents to us leaves for the healing of sin-sick souls. He leads us to
the throne of God, and puts into our mouth a prayer through which we
are brought into close contact with Himself. In our behalf He sets in
operation the all-powerful agencies of heaven. At every step we touch
His living power.