Our Conception of Christian Living
by J. R. Miller True religion is intensely
practical. Only so far as it dominates one's
life is it real. We must get the commandments
out of God's Word and give them a place in the hard, dusty paths
of our earthly toil and struggle. We must get them off the tables
of stone and have them written on the walls of our own hearts. We must bring the golden rule
into our daily actual life. We are too apt to imagine that
holiness consists in mere good feeling toward God. It does not. It consists in obedience in heart
and life to the divine requirements. To be holy is, first, to be set
apart for God and devoted to God's service, and it necessarily
follows that we must live for God. Our hands are God's and
can fitly be used only in doing His work. Our feet are God's,
and may be employed only in walking in His ways and running His errands. Our lips are God's, and should
speak words only that honor Him and bless others. Our hearts
are God's, and must not be profaned by thoughts and affections that
are not pure. true holiness is no vague sentiment. It is intensely practical. It
is nothing less than the bringing of every thought and feeling
and act into obedience to Christ. We are quite in danger of leaving
out the element of obedience in our conception of Christian
living. If we do this, our religion loses
its strength and grandeur and becomes weak, nerveless, and
forceless. Our religion must touch every
part of our life and transform it into the beauty of holiness.