09.03 The need of an inward ideal

III. THE NEED OF AN INWARD IDEAL

What then do we need to redeem this great sense of duty from its dangers? We need an inward personal ideal rising ever above the conventional standards of expectation. The inner spirit must refuse to accept limits from the outward circumstances of class or profession, but move past them on a quest of its own. It is thus that the spirit keeps its liberty, and moulds and masters the conditions by which it is surrounded, instead of allowing itself to be mastered and moulded by them. And where there is liberty there is the possibility of progress. It is only by the power of a free inward ideal that character expands and grows. Moreover, thus capable of progress, such a character is incapable of selfsatisfaction. A man who is determined in his own inward life to be the best that he can be can never fold his hands and say complacently, “I am a profitable servant; I have done that which it was my duty to do.”

If we can say “all these commandments have I kept,” we are only at the best “not far from the Kingdom of God.” As soon as we take the path of ceaseless effort and sacrifice, we enter within it.

TAGS: [Parables]