ATONEMENT 113 



world *s ** sum total ** of joy and gladness* Right and 

 wrong are not the arbitrary dicta of theologians. 

 Speaking generally, sin brings suffering to someone or 

 other, and that is why it is sin ; whilst righteousness 

 brings happiness, and that is why it is righteousness. 

 Sin introduces discord into the Divine harmony, whilst 

 by atonement we mean the doing away with the discord, 

 the restoration of the harmony, the at-one-ment of God 

 and man. 



And if this be so, then anything like righteousness 

 and loving self sacrifice which tend in this direction to 

 bring joy and gladness and make things more at one 

 with the Divine Will — must have in it some measure 

 of atoning efficacy. 



But let me give you one or two illustrations of wh?.t 

 I mean, for it is so much easier to understand a concrete 

 example than to follow an abstract argument. 



I well remember some twenty years ago witnessing 

 the death of a man in good position in society who took 

 his own life. At the time he was supposed to have been 

 wealthy, but in reality he had got into financial difficulties ; 

 and, in order to extricate himself from them, he acted in 

 a way that was far from honourable ; and then, rather 

 than face the consequences of what he had done, he 

 committed suicide, leaving his wife and children to 

 fight the battle of life alone. I shall never forget the 

 terrible scene which followed. It is written indelibly 

 on my memory, and I well remember that, as we talked 

 the matter over afterwards, we anticipated the most 

 disastrous consequences for the children. But as soon 

 as the first shock of the terrible calamity was over, the 

 mother set to work to make a living for her children. 

 Though she had been brought up in the lap of luxury, 

 and had scarcely known what it was to do a hard day's 

 work, she started dressmaking, and took in lodgers, 

 and by working day and night she succeeded in giving 



