Árdís - 01.01.1964, Síða 26

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ÁRDÍ S
madments, he it is that loveth Me.” To those who wonder where
to find Christ, Drummond says: “Christ shines through men,
through books, through history, through nature, music, art. Look
for Him there.”
Having thus explained how to apply Paul’s formula for the
perfection of character, the author warns against discouragement
regarding the slow process of development. He says, “As the man
is to the animal in the slowness of his evolution, so is the spiritual
man to the natural man. Foundations which have to bear the weight
of an etemal life must be surely laid. Character is to wear for ever;
who will wonder that it cannot be developed in a day?” He warns
against any attempt to hasten the growth of the soul, and advises:
“The creation of a new heart, the renewing of a right spirit is an
omnipotent work of God. Leave it to the Creator.”
The author emphasizes the importance of assisting the Creator
in the development of Character and the growth of the Soul, by
exerting the Will. He writes: “While the soul in passivity reflects
the Image of the Lord, the Will in intense activity holds the mirror
in position lest the drifting motion of the world bear it beyond the
line of vision.” To illustrate he tells the following story:
“In the Galerie des Beaux Arts in Paris there stands a famous
statue. It was the last work of a great genius, who, like many a
genius, was very poor and lived in a garret, which served as studio
and sleeping-room alike. When the statue was all but finished, one
midnight a sudden frost fell upon Paris. The sculptor lay awake
in the fireless room and thought of the still moist clay, thought
how the water would freeze in the pores and destroy in an hour
the dream of his life. So the old man rose from his couch and
heaped the bedclothes reverently round his work. In the morning
when the neighbour entered the room the sculptor was dead. But
the statue lived.”
Henry Drummond concludes his lecture as follows:
“The Image of Christ that is forming within us—that is life’s
one charge. Let every project stand aside for that. Till Christ be
formed no man’s work is finished, no religion crowned, no life has
fulfilled its end. Is the infinite task begun? When, how, are we to
be different? Time cannot change men. Death cannot change men.
Christ can. Wherefore put on Christ.”