August 30

If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.—Romans 8:9.

HAVE I the Spirit of Christ? Am I neek, lowly, humble, patient, self-denying, benevolent, as he was? Every day do I endeavor to live as he lived? Does his Spirit so dwell in me, as to bring forth, continually, the peaceable fruits of righteousness? Does my faith fix only on him; my love go forth supremely to him; in my life do I seek to honor him? Do I take him for my Teacher, my Example, my Guide, my Master, my Friend, my Hope, my endless portion?

To be a Christian is not a mere play on a word, but expresses the fact, that as love, purity, goodness, truth, mercy, and the like are the same in all beings, so must the believer who possesses them in kind, be one with Christ who possesses them in perfection. He must see his ideal, and all he most loves, realized in Christ, and the deepest desires of his soul met in being made like him; and he must recognize it as heaven itself to be with him, and to be as he is for ever.—McLEOD.

Jesus! I live to thee, Thou loveliest and best; My life in thee, thy life in me, In thy blest love I rest. Living or dying, Lord, I ask but to be thine; My life in thee, thy life in me, Makes heaven for ever mine! —HARBAUGH.