Religious Reality | Page 3

is symbolized
by the account of a vision which He saw, and a Voice which designated
Him as Son of GOD. He became conscious of a religious mission, and
was at first tempted to interpret His mission in an unworthy way, to
seek to promote spiritual ends by temporal compromises, or to impress
men's minds by an appeal to mystery or miracle. He rejected the
temptation, and proclaimed simply GOD and His Kingdom. He is said
to have healed the sick and to have wrought other "signs and mighty
works": but He set no great store by these things, and did not wish to be
known primarily as a wonder-worker. He lived the life of an itinerating
Teacher, declaring to any who cared to listen the things concerning the
Kingdom of GOD. At times He was popular and attracted crowds: but
He cared little for popularity, wrapped up His teaching in parables, and
repelled by His "hard sayings" all but a minority of earnest souls. He
gave offence to the conventionalists and the religiously orthodox by the
freedom with which He criticized established beliefs and usages, by His
championship of social outcasts, and by His association with persons of
disreputable life. Unlike John the Baptist, He was neither a teetotaller
nor a puritan. He was not a rigid Sabbatarian. He despised humbug,
hypocrisy, and cant: and He hated meanness and cruelty. He could be
stern with a terrible sternness. His gaze pierced through all disguises,
and He understood the things that are in the heart of man. He saw
things naked. He has been called "the great Son of Fact." He was never
under any illusions.
He faced the hostility of public opinion with unflinching courage. He
expected to be crucified, and crucified He was. He warned those who
followed Him to expect a similar fate. He claimed from men an
allegiance that should be absolute: the ties of home and kindred, of
wealth or position in the world, were to be held of no account: anything
which stood in the way of entire discipleship to Himself, however
compelling its immediate claim, was to be sacrificed without hesitation
for His sake. He saw nothing inconsistent between this concentration of
men's allegiance upon His own person, and His insistence upon GOD
as the one great Reality that mattered.

The motive of His whole life was consecration to the will of GOD. He
was rich towards GOD, where other men are poor. The words were true
of Him, as of no one else, "I have set GOD always before me." His
mission among men He fulfilled as a work which His Father had given
Him to do. "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O GOD." He loved men, and
went about doing good, because He knew that GOD loved men, and
meant well by them, and desired good for them, and not evil. He was
pitiful, because GOD is pitiful. He hated evil, because GOD hates it.
He loved purity, because GOD is pure.
He delighted in friendships both with men and women: but you could
not imagine anything unclean in His friendships. He was not married,
but He looked upon marriage as an utterly pure and holy thing, taught
that a man should leave father and mother and cleave unto his wife so
that they twain should be one flesh, and recognized no possibility of
divorce except--and even this is not quite certain--on the ground of
marital unfaithfulness. He had one and the same standard of purity for
men and women.
He loved children, the birds and the flowers, the life of the open air: but
He was equally at home in the life of the town. He went out to dinner
with anybody who asked Him: He rejoiced in the simple hilarity of a
wedding feast. He was a believer in fellowship, and in human
brotherhood. He was everybody's friend, and looked upon no one as
beyond the pale. He loved sinners and welcomed them, without in the
least condoning what was wrong. He looked upon the open and
acknowledged sinner as a more hopeful person from the religious point
of view than the person who was self-satisfied and smug. He said that
He came to seek and to save those who knew themselves to be lost.
He chose twelve men to be in an especial sense His disciples--learners
in His school. To them He sought to reveal something of His deeper
mind. He tried to make them understand that true royalty consists in
service; that if a man would be spiritually great he should choose for
himself the lowest room, and become the servant of all; that the
privilege of sitting on His right hand and on His left in His Kingdom
was reserved for those for whom it