To Make Plain the Great Cause of All as Father.--We live in an immense
universe, in the midst of giant forces of which, after science has
made its most searching investigation and said its last word, we know
comparatively little and that little imperfectly. No set of men is
more ready to admit this state of affairs than that which has made the
closest scrutiny of the phenomena of nature. There is a host of
questions to which the most painstaking investigation on the part of
the philosophers can afford us no answer.
Without this Christian faith which tells us of a revelation from God
and His plan and purpose for man we should be helpless, ever seeking
for light in this universe which we could not find. Then again we
might believe in a first great cause of all things, but without a
revelation we could not know God as the Creator of all things and as
our Father who cares supremely for us--made known in the manifestation
of Jesus Christ.
By faith in Christ we are brought into communion with God the Father.
To Show the Importance and Value of Human Life.--How could man know
that he was more than an atom in a whirlpool of atoms, his life of
sense but a transitory thing, if it had not been for the Scriptures
which seek to impress upon him the value of his life in the sight of
God (John 3:16,17; Matthew 16:26)? Without the pale of the Christian
faith men hold life but cheaply, they squander it and waste it in sin;
they too often say, "Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we
die"--forever passing out of existence. The Christian faith holds
human life as a very precious thing, something to be cherished with
infinite and loving care, for the spirit in man is to live forever.
Here is a new significance given to life which, when the individual
accepts it, gives him new and great ideals, which lift him to a higher
level of living.
By faith in Christ we are brought into proper fellowship with our
fellow men, and their lives are made precious in our sight.
To Show the Way to Happiness and Joy Through Jesus Christ.--If there
is one thing more than another which man is seeking it is happiness,
but it is the kind of happiness which frequently destroys the body and
soul--still he seeks it. Many men seek happiness through relaxation of
their moral nature.
Christ came preaching the happiness of a conqueror, the victor who
sings the song of rejoicing over some victory won; He set forth a joy
which celebrated a conquest over evil desires and made a man noble and
pure in his thoughts and aspirations. Jesus did His work for the joy
that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). The Christian faith was never
intended to make a man gloomy or downcast, but to put joy in his heart
and a song upon his lips. No one has more right to a cheerful
countenance than the sincere Christian, for he can be sure that he
knows the way of happiness here and nothing can come to him hereafter
save peace and glory in the redeemed life.