given us a civilization so creditable. The early councils were incapable
of being led by the spirit of Jesus. They were prejudiced by their
preconceptions of the character of God and the nature of religion, and
evolved a scheme of salvation to fit past conceptions instead of
accepting as real the love of God and of man that Jesus added to the
religion of his fathers. Even the Christianity they fashioned has not
been fairly tried. The Christianity that Jesus proclaimed, a call to
trust, to love, and spiritual life, has hardly been tried at all. We
seem just to be awakening to what it is, and to its application to the
art of living.

THE PRODIGAL'S FATHER

What a difference in the thought of God and in the joy of life would
have followed had the hearers of Jesus given the parable of the Prodigal
Son its full significance! They would then have found in the happy,
loving father and his full forgiveness of the son who "came to himself"
a type of the Heavenly Father. The shadow of the olden fear still
persists, chilling human life. We do not trust the love of God and bear
life's burdens with cheerful courage. From lurking fear of the jealous
king of Hebrew tradition, we are even afraid to be happy when we might.
We fail of faith in the reality of God's love. We forget the robe, the
ring, the overflowing joy of the earthly father, not earned by the
prodigal, but given from complete love. The thing best worth while is
faith in the love of God.

If it be lacking, perhaps the best way to gain it is to assume it--to
act on the basis of its existence, putting aside our doubts, and giving
whatever love we have in our own hearts a chance to strengthen.

WHITSUNTIDE

Whitsuntide is a church season that too often fails to receive due
acknowledgment or recognition. It is, in observance, a poor third.
Christmas is largely diverted to a giving of superfluous gifts, and is
popular from the wide-felt interest in the happiness of children. Easter
we can not forget, for it celebrates the rising or the risen life, and
is marked by the fresh beauty of a beautiful world. To appreciate the
pentecostal season and to care for spiritual inspiration appeals to the
few, and to those few on a higher plane. But of all that religion has to
give, it represents the highest gift, and it has to do with the world's
greatest need.

Spiritual life is the most precious of possessions, the highest
attainment of humanity. Happy are we if our better sp