^ What, after all, is this " faith " which above all things we who have even a grain of it must desire to hold forth to others ? " This is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith." It is a power, not a mere belief ; and power can be shown only in action, only in overcoming resistance. Power that shall lift us one by one above temptations, above cares, above selfishness ; power that shall make all things new, and subdue all things unto itself ; power by which loss is transmuted into gain, tribulation into rejoicing, death itself into the gate of everlasting life; — is not this the true meaning of faith ? ^
Yes, Master, when Thou comest Thou shalt find
A little faith on earth, if I am here ! Thou know'st how oft I turn to Thee my mind,
How sad I wait until Thy face appear !
Hast Thou not ploughed my thorny ground full sore, And from it gathered many stones and sherds ?
Plough, plough and harrow till it needs no more — Then sow Thy mustard-seeds, and send Thy birds.
I love Thee, Lord; and if I yield to fears.
Nor trust with triumph that pale doubt defies,
Eemember, Lord, 'tis nigh two thousand years. And I have never seen Thee with mine eyes!
And when I lift them from the wondrous tale. See, all about me hath so strange a show !
Is that Thy river running down the vale ?
Is that Thy wind that through the pines doth blow?
* John Ker, Thoughts for Heart and Life, 24. ' Caroline Eraelia Stephen.
ST. JOHN XX. 29 393
Coiild'st Thou right verily appear again,
The same who walked the paths of Palestine,
And here in England teach Thy trusting men
In church and field and house, with word and sign?
Here are but lilies, sparrows, and the rest!
My hands on some dear proof would light and stay! But my heart sees John leaning on Thy breast.
And sends them forth to do what Thou doth say.^ * George MacDonald.
The Chief Purpose of the Gospel.
396
Literature.
Cairns (J.), Christ the Morning Star, 290.
Clifford (J.), The Christian Certainties, 159.
Davies (J. LI.), The Manifestation of the Son of God, 32.
Drummond (J.), Spiritual Religion, 40.
Farrar (F. W.), Truths to Live By, 1.
Hall (E. H.), Discourses, 78.
Kagg (L.), Christ and Our Ideals, 1.
Selbie (W. B.), Aspects of Christ, 95.
Spurgeon (C. H.), Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, xxvii. No. 1631.
Stalker (J.), The Tivo St. Johns, 169.
Stryker (M. W.), TJie Well by the Gate, 43.
Wilson (J. M.), Studies in the Origins and Aims of the Four Gospels, 86.
Christian Commonwealth, March 1, 1911 (Campbell).
Christian World Pulpit, xxxvi. 168 (Brokenshire) ; xli. 339 (Scott
Holland) ; Ixiii. 262 (Mitchell). Guardian, June 16, 1911 (Strong). Literary Churchman, xvii. 454. Treasury, xxii. 263 (Welcher).
<«»ft
The Chief Purpose of the Gospel.
Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book ; but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye may have life in his name. — John xx. 30, 31.
These words describe the chief purpose of the Gospel according to St. John, considered as a narrative of the life of Jesus. In their effect, though not by their position, they form the author's explanatory preface to the whole book, because they assert the reason why he wrote, and indicate the kind of result he antici- pated for the readers of his work.
This text, then, is nothing less than St. John's own state- ment and summary of the object of his Gospel. We read the Gospels ; page by page, verse by verse, we profit by their Divine teachings ; but it is a blessed thought to have been told in one single verse the central intent why the last and most spiritual of them was written. That intent, the Evangelist tells us, was to produce in us a twofold conviction, and to enable us to enjoy the life which springs from its continuous power. The first conviction which he aims at forming in us is that Jesus is the Christ ; the second, that Christ Jesus is the Son of God ; and the fruit of that twofold conviction is the eternal life which is inspired by such a faith.
^ The living testimony of one who has " seen and touched and handled," retains its unique charm and value across the flight of time. The custody of the museum at Bologna, in which are preserved the relics and trophies of the " Eisorgimento," is committed to an old Garibaldian veteran, who loves his charges with a real fatherly love — the torn uniforms and rusted and battered swords, the little scraps of writing, stained and crumpled, proclamations, letters, sonnets. But, above all, he loves the relics of Ugo Bassi — the devoted Barnabite, who inspired this national
398 CHIEF PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL
crusade as Peter the Hermit had fired men centuries before to fight the battles of Christendom. The priest who was content to stand apart from his fellows, and toil and suffer and die for the cause of Truth and Justice: the man whom the heroes of '48 revered and loved, as St. Francis of old had been revered and loved — almost like Christ Himself come down again. One may read in books, or one may hear from the lips of a young professor who has studied history more widely and scientifically, a fascinat- ing account of the events of '48 and '49. But there comes a peculiar thrill, a peculiar feeling of real touch with the facts, when the relics of Ugo Bassi are shown by one who as a boy heard that voice ring out in the Piazza, and saw a whole city stirred, as the light of those wonderful eyes pierced through them, and they stood in the grip of a soul that spoke in face and gesture as well as in the music of audible appeal. The martyrdom has a new meaning for us, as such an one relates how he saw the wearied form drawn through the streets and out at the gate of Sant' Isaia amid the hated white uniforms ; and heard the shots fired which proclaimed that the last agony was over. No ; one who can say, " I saw, I touched, I handled," even after the lapse of many years, still draws us, still makes the past live for us as none other can.^