Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 2.pdf/347



ROM the study of the one, the Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Christian learns that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. From his experience of himself, enlightened by keeping that great model before him, he learns that this kingdom of God is within him. He therefore sees that the kingdom of God hereafter is but a continuation and expansion of the kingdom of God now; and accordingly he sets to work, after his great example, to mould all his concerns in time, into part of that holy kingdom; he seeks first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and as surely as the promise faileth not, he finds all things added. Thus he reverses the course of the man of the world, who begins by making gain for himself—he lays up for himself treasures in heaven. He does his best to trade with all his faculties and talents, that as often as the Great Giver brings him to account, he may have wherewithal to render a profit from them. But if an object prove beyond his reach by fair means, he cheerfully abandons it, as in the ordering of Supreme Wisdom. The consequence is, that his enjoyments are not mere expectations, whose duration is measured only by the admiration of of the present company. He has good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. His appetite is as keen, his relish for food is as good, his enjoyment of sleep is as refreshing, his turn for