| The Glory of the Common Life |
Chapter 15 |
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The same is true of every noble quality. All life is immortal. Its reach is infinite. Yet few of us begin to make of our own personal life what we might make of it. We do not live as we could live. We touch only the edges of possible attainment. The call of Christ to us ever is to enlarge our lives. He wants us to have not life merely, but abundant life. Yet many of us are satisfied if we have life at all, even the smallest measure of it. We live only at a “poor dying rate,” as the old hymn puts it. Our veins are scant of life. We are not living richly. Our cheeks are thin and sunken. We are spiritually anemic.
Men are looking after their bodies now a good deal more than they did formerly. We are taught that we ought to be well, that we ought to bring our bodies up to their best. Athletics may be overdone in some of our colleges, where some young men seem to think they have no minds, no souls, have only bodies. But true education thinks of all parts of the life – body, mind, and spirit, and seeks to make full rounded men. That is what Christ means when he calls for abundant life. It means enlargement in all phases and departments of our being. We are not living up to our full duty if we are not taking care of our bodies. We are always in danger of overindulging our appetites. Plain living and high thinking belong to the true life. Men talk about the mystery of Providence when their health is poor or when they break down early. They wonder why it is. Perhaps it would be fairer to put the responsibility on their own neglect of the laws of life and health.
The heart makes the life. This is true of the physical life – its health and fullness depend on the working of the heart. It is true also of the spiritual life. “Thy heart shall be enlarged” is the promise to those who are called to live the life of divine grace.
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