o had such a passion for men as Jesus. He lived
to win them out of their distressed, sinful, needy lives up to a new
level. He _died_ to win them. His last act was dying to win men. His last
word was, "Go ye and win men." And His first act when He got back home,
all scarred and marred by His contact with earth, was to send down the
same Spirit as swayed Him those human years to live in us that we might
have the same passion for winning men as He. Aye, and the same exquisite
tact in doing it as He had.
I said the last act was dying to win men. And you remember that even in
the act of dying, He forgot the keen pain of body, and the far keener pain
of spirit, to turn His head as far as He could turn it, and speak the
word to the fellow by His side that meant the difference of _a world_ to
him. Surely it was the ruling passion with Him to win men, strong in
death, aye, strongest in death, and finding its strongest expression in
His death.
Counting on Us.
Somebody has supposed the scene that he thinks may have taken place after
Jesus went back. The last the earth sees of Him is the cloud--not a rain
cloud, a _glory_ cloud--that sweeps down and conceals Him from view. And
the earth has not seen Him since. Though the old Book does say that some
day He's coming back in just the same way as He went away, and some of us
are strongly inclined to think it will be as the Book says in that regard.
But--have you ever tried to think of what took place on the other side of
that cloud? He has been gone down there on the earth thirty-odd years.
It's a long time. And they're fairly hungry in their eyes for a look again
at that blessed old face. And I have imagined them crowding down to where
they may get the first glimpse of His face again. And, do you know, lately
I have been wondering, with the softening of awe creeping into the
thought, whether--the Father--did not come the very first of them all
and--touch His lips up to where--the _scars_ were in Jesus' brow and
cheeks--yes, His hands--and His feet, too. Tell me, you fathers here
listening, would you not have done something like that with _your_ boy,
under such circumstances?
You mothers, wouldn't you have been doing something like that with your
boy? And all the fatherhood of earth is named after the fatherhood of
heaven, we're told. And with God fatherhood means motherhood too, you
know. I do not _know_ if it were so. But I think it's likely. It would be
just like Go
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