He
was not content to leave it as a general proposition. By parable and
precept again and again He made it clear, not merely that the
possibilities were here, but that they were God's major interest. By
them we are judged.

The practical men who knew that the temple bills had to be paid knew
that money was money, but Jesus rated the widow's tiny offering above
them all. The one wandering sheep was more precious than the
ninety-nine. The perfect young man who had kept all the commandments, no
doubt the joy of his mother and the pride of his community, and also the
substantial pillar of the church who had done everything that was
required, were not to be compared with the social outcast who had failed
but had the grace to admit it. There was hope for him.

Taking the will for the deed, the sincere intention for the achievement,
or the yearning of the heart for the practical accomplishment, is
subversive of all our standards of conduct. No business could be run on
the basis of paying men in accordance with their readiness to work,
irrespective of the service rendered, as is the case in the parable of
the laborers in the vineyard. But God seems to be able to run the
universe on that basis. No wonder the common people heard Jesus gladly.

Of course the corollary, or rather the premise, of that is that God has
faith in us and loves and forgives. That is why He can use such an
extraordinary way of estimating worth. He believes in us, believes that
we are better than we know ourselves to be, for our knowledge seldom
goes to the roots of our being. He can be patient while we are still
stumbling through the shallows of existence. Ye know not what spirit ye
are of, was Christ's word to those who had not yet caught God's vision
of the world.

The one who gets that thought in all its bearings, that this is God's
world from the beginning to the end, in all its implications, knows
that no effort is ever lost, whatever the apparent outcome. He knows
that a real brotherhood is possible, however broken present
relationships may be. He knows that God's will cannot permanently be
thwarted, however man's futility may interfere. He knows that God and
nature, religion and science, truth and experience must eventually meet
in one common focus, however separated they may appear. He will echo
Maud Royden's fine words: "I am convinced that what I can see others can
see--and nothing will persuade me that the world is not ready for an
ideal fo