! It was to prove his undoing, and to bring
his presumptuous selfishness to the ground.

Look at Abram. His spirit was cool and thoughtful, unheated by the
feverish yearning after increased possessions. He had a "quiet eye," the
fruit of his faithful communion with God. He was more intent on peace than
plenty. He preferred fraternal fellowship to selfish increase. And so he
chose the unselfish way, and along that way he discovered the blessing of
God. "The Lord is mindful of His own. He remembereth His children." In the
unselfish way we always enjoy the Divine companionship, and in that
companionship we are endowed with inconceivable wealth.

JANUARY The Eleventh

_SELF-MADE OR GOD-MADE_

MATTHEW vi. 26-33.

Think of Lot and then think of a lily of the field! Think of the
feverishness of the one and of the serenity of the other, or think of the
ugly selfishness of the one, and of the graceful beauty of the other! Look
upon avarice at its worst, upon a Shylock, and then gaze upon a lily of
the field! How alarming is the contrast! The one is self-made, guided by
vicious impulses; the other is the handiwork of God. The one is rooted in
self-will; the other is rooted in the power of the Divine grace. God has
nothing to do with the one; He has everything to do with the other. So one
becomes "big" and ugly; the other grows in strength and beauty.

Now the wonder is this, that we, too, may be rooted in the power from
which the lily draws its grace. We may draw into our souls the wealth of
the Eternal, even the unsearchable riches of Christ. We may put on "the
beauty of holiness." We may become clothed in the graces of the Spirit.
When we are in the field of the lilies we may appear unto the Lord as
kindred flowers of His own garden.

"He that abideth in Me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit."
"Rooted in Him," we shall "grow up in all things unto Him."

JANUARY The Twelfth

_TWO OPPOSITES_

"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
--1 JOHN ii. 13-17.

No man can love two opposites any more than he can walk in contrary
directions at the same time. No man can at once be mean and magnanimous,
chivalrous and selfish. We cannot at the same moment dress appropriately
for the arctic regions and the tropics. And we cannot wear the habits of
the world and the garments of salvation. When we try to do it the result
is a wretched and miserable compromise. I have seen