and for the comfort
of God's creatures. The heart of the Christian--the center of life and
love--will find satisfaction in being in sympathetic touch with all that
is good and noble.

I have dwelt upon this point because the worldly are in the habit of
picturing the Christian life as gloomy and forbidding. It is a libel; a
long-faced Christian is a poor Christian, if a Christian at all. "Be of
good cheer," is a Christian salutation; Christ used it repeatedly. In
Matthew 9:2 He said to the man sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good
cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee."

In Matthew 14:27 He quieted the fears of His disciples, "Be of good
cheer; it is I; be not afraid." In John 16:33 He inspired the Apostles,
"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Here we have three of the greatest sources of happiness--Forgiveness of
sins: the presence of the Saviour and triumph over the world.

In Acts we find Him using the same words in addressing Paul and later
Paul uses them in encouraging his companions.

Religion--real, heartfelt religion--transforms its possessor. It moulds
the disposition and disposition determines expression. No beauty doctor
can make a face as winsome as the face of one whose heart overflows with
loving kindness; just as no face specialist can impose from without such
lines of strength and intelligence as can be written upon it by the
thoughts that pass through the brain.

The Christian life is the simple life. Charles Wagner sounded a note
that echoed around the world when, some two decades ago, he issued his
eloquent protest against the burdensome complexities of modern life. He
made a plea for the natural life in which each individual will be his
own master instead of being the servant of his possessions. Wagner's
book, though first published in Paris, had a larger circulation in the
United States than in any other nation--not because our people have
wandered farther than others into artificial social forms, but because
they are sensitive to high ideals and free to reject harmful customs.

Social intercourse should be an expression of friendship, and friendship
is both embarrassed and obscured by vulgar display. The home should be a
place of rest, where congenial spirits can gather for communion. There
is nothing edifying or satisfying in the mere comparing of apparel.
The aim of entertainment should be to refresh the guest and stimulate
friendship; the end is defeated by a rivalry in extravagance