The Primal Thing Which Should Be Permanent

“Thou hast left thy first love.” — Revelation ii. 4.

There are three sets of men who may be said to be under a cloud — the sceptic, the pessimist and the cynic. I should say they represent respectively the clouds over faith, hope and love. Scepticism is the cloud over faith; pessimism is the cloud over hope; cynicism is the cloud over love. Now, of these three, the greatest cloud is the last. It is a sad thing when a man is compelled to sa)’-, “There is no ground for religious belief*’ It is a sad thing when he is compelled to say, “There is no ground for human hope.” But the saddest of all things is when he is compelled to say, “There is no ground for brotherly love!’ There was a time when this order of comparison would have been greeted as the wildest of paradoxes. There are ages known to history as “the ages of faith,” This means that in those days there was no sin deemed so bad as the sin of being a sceptic. In our day the greatest of all sins is deemed the sin against love. And I feel sure that this latest judgment by earth is the permanent judgment in heaven. There is no cloud deplored like the cloud over my love — over my power of loving. The Church has often lamented ‘* advanced views.” What my Father laments is my contracted views — the contraction of my heart. An eclipse of faith may come from larger light; an eclipse of hope may come from transcending my environment; but an eclipse of love means a spiritual decline. My Father fears when I enter into this cloud.

My soul, leave not thy first love! I will not say, leave not thy first faith! The first faith is not always the best; thy thought of the Father may be purified by the fire through which it passes. I will not say, leave not thy first hope! The first hope is not always the best; thine earliest dream of Paradise may be a selfish dream. It is written, “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail.” Our first prophetic hopes generally do fail; the man would scorn the ideals of his childhood. But thy first love, thy morning love, that ought not to die! I would have no cloud to come over the vision of thy heart. If thou wilt keep that vision clear, there will be no want to thee. There may be starless nights to the eye of intellect; the old tongues may cease in which faith once expressed itself. There may be starless nights to the eye of fancy; the old prophecies may fail in which hope once delighted. But, if thy love remain, the eye of the heart will not be starless. The heart can see in places where the reason has lost its sight, where the fancy has become blind. Destroy these temples, and in three days love shall raise them again! It will give thee back thy faith; love believeth all things. It will give thee back thy prophecy; love hopeth all things. It will give thee better than either faith or prophecy — power to wait with« out them; love endureth all things. Never let out the fire of the heart! Though nerve be low, though sense be feeble, though judgment be groping, though fancy’s wing be weary, yea, though virtue itself be erring, keep that fire ever burning, and all the rest shall be added unto thee. Leave not thy first love, O my soul!