^ G. H. Morrison
* H. M. Gwatkin, in The Interpreter, January, 1912, p. 146.
ST. JOHN X. lo 431
4. Life as we see it is manifested in a succession of rising grades. Lowest, there is the vegetable world or plant life, with no volition or consciousness, tied down by invariable laws. Higher, we witness in the animal world the rise of life from the physical to the psychical ; in even the lowest forms of animal life there would seem to be some dawning consciousness and voHtion. In man, the inner, psychical life shows itself superior to the physical. It is lighted by reason, capable of deliberate choice and self-direction, able to discern the moral ideal, and it is the seat of spiritual aspirations.
We may therefore speak separately (1) of physical or natural life, (2) of intellectual, (3) of moral, and (4) of religious or spiritual life.
(1) Physical Life. — Man is a self-conscious Personality with the power of self -formation. Life is given us, a fresh supply comes to us day by day, given into our hand, as it were, and in a large measure we can shape it as we choose — make it larger and fuller, keep it much the same, or let it dwindle away almost into nothingness. How we shall shape our lives will depend for the most part on what we deem the true good. Each man's life is governed by that which seems to him, from moment to moment, most desirable for him to attain to and enjoy. We may not deliberately think about it, yet there is always some end which we seek to gain. The greatness of man and his responsibility lie in the fact that he is capable of determining what his end in life shall be. He is thus, so far, his own creator and the " master of his fate." He may remain largely on the level of the merely vegetative life, dominated unconsciously by moods and circum- stances. Except when self-interest becomes so keen as to assert itself, he may be entirely a slave to what is outside himself. This cannot be the true life of man. Or he may suffer himself to be swayed in the main by the appetites and passions and necessities of his physical or animal nature, thus also failing to rise to manhood.
The worship of material well-being, with its unceasing round of distractions and occupations, cannot bring rest to its devotees. Nor, again, can the nobler activities and pleasures which attract others exhaust their capacities or satisfy their nature. These at
432 GREATEST THING IN THE Vv^ORLD
the best show life under the limitations of time, and, as one of our great poets has said,
Life's inadequate to joy. As the soul sees it.
A man can use but a man's joy And he sees God's.
Therefore by the necessity of our being we cry from the depths of our heart for life, not for the instruments of life only or for the means of living; but for life, for more life, fuller, deeper, more certain, more enduring ; for the prospect of untroubled calm with fruitful activity ; of strenuous labour without weariness ; for the pledge of
Some future state Unlimited in capability For joy, as this is in desire for joy:
for a life, that is, reaching through the seen into the unseen : a life able to unite and interpret " all objects of all thought " : to satisfy and inspire all effort. So the voice comes to us from the Gospels with a new meaning and a new power : " I came that they may have life."
(2) Intellectual and emotional Life. — Christ vitalizes the intellect and the emotions. A man does not live until his intellectual nature is truly awake. Is there anything more calculated to quicken the mental faculties and arouse intellectual enthusiasm than a consideration of those lofty and inspiring topics that were the theme of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth ? He made everybody think. Indeed, what is called " conversion " is often as much an intellectual as a spiritual awakening. The Christian life tends to develop the thinking faculty and is a culture by itself. Interest is aroused in questions that can be solved only by thought and reflection, and spiritual awakening appears often to be accompanied by an accession of intelligence. Plain, un- educated people seem suddenly to attain to a much greater fulness of intellectual life. The man who is " born from above " is raised to a higher plane of contemplation. He holds commerce with larger ideas, and is greatened in his whole nature thereby. And what is true of the intellect is true, and generally much more obviously, of the emotions.
ST. JOHN X. lo 433
(3) Moral Life. — The moral life is higher than the merely intellectual and emotional. " The honest man " — honest all over — " is king o' men for a' that," in spite of all that shines more brightly or that towers above him. The man who can conquer and command himself in loyalty to the visions of justice and duty which shine upon him, who dares to do right though the heavens should fall, who will act honestly whatever the consequences to himself, who seeks always to do justly in relation to himself and his fellows, to respect them as persons equally with himself, whatever their outward position may be, and to serve and help them in whatever way he can, has risen, every man in his inmost self feels and knows, to a far higher conception of life than that which is governed by intellect and emotion merely. He has got, in some measure at least, beyond himself into the larger life of his fellows. The simple fact that he has done so proves that he has reached a higher and truer, richer and fuller life. Christ comes to give moral life.