Page:Side talks with girls (1895).djvu/93

Rh

What I want to make you understand, my dear girls, is that yours is a faith to live by, as well as to die by. It is a faith that will send forth beautiful blossoms of love and consideration, will make sweet your daily walks, and it is only when you make it a living faith that it is worth while. I do not wish to seem to underrate repentance, even if it be at the last hour, but I want you to distinctly understand that the beautiful life dedicated to God, lived out in His honor, certainly does more for the world at large than the mere giving to Him of one's self at the very end. I wish I could tell you more plainly what I think comes from a living faith. It seems to me that it must make all the words spoken sweet, all the looks kindly, and all the actions unselfish, and yet with it all there must be so much of humanity in you that you never once suggest to the other girls that you are anything but the most agreeable girl they know, and the best one. I wouldn't have you a hypocrite for the world; I would not have you assume any virtue that you do not possess, but I am more than anxious that you should get so close to every virtue that it will become a part of you, and that your life will be a picture of perfect faith as shown by works.