The Consecration That Finds Heaven on Earth

The whole earth is filled with Thy glory.”, — Psaum lxxii. 19. “* Thy will be done on earth.”” — Marv. vi. 10.

If our earth has no sanctities for us our

heaven will have none. H — nothing. sacred in the inch we “shall” find nothing truly.sacred.in the-infinite:» If there

’ is nothing venerable in time there will be

nothing venerable in eternity. The discovery of a mystical gateway on some common bit of earthly ground gives a new significance to everything. A-burning-bush-at the back~of the desert-gives‘a man an entirely new world. A vision at Bethel — that unromantic spot ! — with its mystical ladder uniting earth and heaven, creates a new conception of the

universe. A local altar has influences whose‘ “

eurreney-encircles the globe,

And therefore it becomes a matter of uttermost importance when we consecrate our earth-home — its common roads, its fellowships, its ordinary comings and goings, its daily ups and downs, its customary business, its recurring periods of rest. We must diligently look for the sacred gateways in the midst of nature’s loveliness, and we must pass through them and reverently enter another realm of surpassing loveliness, of which the first is only the outer type-and. symbol. We must practise reading the literature of nature, in confident assurance that every beautiful thing has something to say to us if only we will take the trouble to learn the language., Everything has heavenly significance, and bears. the seal of divine grace:

If we begin all our thinking with the assumption that earth is only a~ — place of swift. transition,.and-nothing-more, a sort of caravansary where we put up for a single night, a sort of small stage for little events, we shall never apprehend the real sublimity of life, nor shall we tread our daily road in fellowship with a mighty purpose. We have sometimes sung the words, “Earth is a desert drear.”” But where did we learnit-?- Who.taught us the lesson.?....Where can such teaching be found in the word of our Lord? We go on to say, ‘‘ Heaven is our home.” Yes, indeed it is, but in the bounty of divine grace we can find some of the heme-glory’/”: while-we-are.still on. the..way — to-itr- — Some-. thing of the mind and the tastes.of the owner of the great house can be found on the carriage-drive..which~leads-up~to~it: “~~ “* The Hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets, before we reach the heavenly fields! ’*» — Telike that. better, and we are justified in liking it, because it is backed by the word of the Lord. What wonderfully novel and inspiring things Bunyan’s pilgrim found upon the road long before he reached the Celestial City! And this in spite of all the fights he had waged, and the tears he shed. Think of the refreshing springs he found, and” he fottnd.them just where he needed them. Think of the pleasant arbours which he found prepared for him on the slopes of exhausting hills. And then the lilies — growing where-do-youthink.? — — in the Valley of Humiliation! And there were strange reviving fragrances on the road like the wafting of the scent of the sweet briar as. you. go. along... your-way: - “Barth was-full-of revelationsof the King’s.grace. The Lord of the Highway had taken great thought for His pilgrims. Earth was redolent of heaven, and provision was everywhere made for daily growth, and for enlarging consecration and service.

How, then, may we increasingly conse- ,, crate the-earth through which we have to

pass on the way to our eternal home? First of all, by a deepening adoration. It can only be attained by the assiduous practice of reverence. The good bishop in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables said that his desires gathered about two things — some flowers on the earth and some stars in the skies. I-seemto see in his aspiration an attitude which looks up and a posture which looks down. And shall we say that the “look Up” at the stars, and the “‘ look’ down” at the flowers were to be complementary acts in reverential worship? In the-postures.of aspiration and admiration he was to find the reality and the gladsome- |, ness of life. But E-think,these flowers of

earth, meant something more than this. They surely referred to all the sweet and fragrant things of life — its tender affections, its simple courtesies, its kindnesses, and in these the good bishop’s spirit was to find reverent communion with God. And then the stars above! The~stars~of-revelation! The gleamings of divine truth! ‘Fhe-ever= new..shinings — in — the.sky — of-his-soul| And especially, and beyond all and everything else, the wonderful shining of Him who is known to us as the bright and Morning Star. We cultivate the spirit of adoration by looking always and everywhere for God, and by seeking to incarnate the revelation in our own daily life and practice.

And a second way of consecrating our

‘0, earth-home is by an ever-expanding affection.

vw’ We make every place venerable. when we

make it the habitation of a larger love. Wherever and whenever love finds a new expression, God’s world receives a deeper consecration. Love always converts a house into a home, and more love makes the home more lovely. And in its new power love makes new discoveries of the love of God and of the world of human life. ‘ Let your love abound yet more and more in all knowledge and discernment.’’ The bigger love always finds itself in a bigger world; new side chapels are revealed in the growing cathedral of human life.

And lastly, we consecrate our earth-home ~~”

in an enlarging sense of duty and in the quest of nobler service. Whenever a moral obligation becomes a delight, whenever~the~old rock..becomes.the-place’of’aspring, the earth is being enriched. Whenever a necessary yoke is worn with joy the road is transfigured. Whenever we have brought out our wallet and ministered to someone who is bruised and broken, and when we have done it as one of the joys of life, we have left a fragrance about the place as of incense which gathers about an altar.