I was converted at the age of twenty-eight. A few months later,
realizing the need of a deeper spiritual life, I yielded myself a living
sacrifice to God, and he gave me the desire of my heart. Bless his name!
To tell you the joy of my soul in these experiences, is immeasurably
beyond the power of my pen. The happiness of a pure life fancied in
the day-dreams of my youth were more than realized. Although I was of
a highly imaginative mind, the joy my heart found in the riches of
redeeming grace was numberless times greater than the fancied joys
pictured to my mind in my boyhood hours.
My heart now flowed out in a gushing stream of love to God, and my mind
glowed with thoughts of him. It was the poet Milton who said: "As to
other points, what God may have determined for me, I know now; but this
I know--that if he ever instilled an intense love of moral beauty into
the breast of any man, he has instilled it into mine. Ceres, in the
fable, pursued not her daughter with a greater keenness of inquiry than
I, day and night, the idea of perfection." And I think the same was true
of me.
Early in my religious life I became conscious that the law of
development is written in the Christian heart, and that this law, if
given full scope, will raise us year after year into higher degrees of
perfection. The Holy Spirit revealed to me also at this time the secret
of attaining to this perfect life by a natural growth in grace day after
day. In love and humility lies the secret of a perfect and successful
Christian life. The earnestness with which we seek God is in proportion
to our love for him. Just as truly as the seven colors are woven
together in one white ray of sunlight, so truly are the laws of a
perfect life gathered up and fulfilled in the life of those who love
God. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." No man can escape the effect
of breaking a law of love. What fragrance is to the flower, obedience is
to love. Any act of unfaithfulness to God or man sounds a false note on
the golden harp of love. He who loves truth intensely will dwell with
truth; he who loves purity of thought will think only on things that
are pure. Vain thoughts will he hate. He who loves learning will seek
after learning and just to that intensity of his love for it. He who
loves home will dwell at home as much as possible, and home will become
sweeter home. He who loves God will dwell with God, will seek after God,
thereby strengthening his affection for God and daily growing into his
perfection.