SYNTHESIS OF THE NATURAL AND THE SUPERNATURAL 



student daj^s when the creed which I had inherited was 

 still an unbroken, even, unchipped crystal. I was thrown, 

 in my Glasgow University time into the company of a young 

 minister who had felt the air of the modern uplands. In 

 conversation, to my astonishment, he exprCvSsed, in a 

 moment of confidence, a doubt as to the pre-existence of 

 Jesus. In my then untravelled inexperience I was shocked 

 and said to him, " Mr. H,, suppose you were dying at this 

 moment, and, going into the presence of Jesus, found you 

 were wrong, how would you feel?" "I believe," said 

 he, " Jesus would not blame me for suspense of judgement 

 when, to me, the evidence is not quite clear. I would be 

 on my knees at the Master's feet, and I can imagine Him 

 with the kindness of His days in the flesh, putting one 

 open hand on one of my cheeks and the other on the other 

 cheek, looking with His fine eyes: into my face and saying, 

 * my httle boy, what was that you were saying down 

 there ? ' " From thi.s seed of truth there began to grow in 

 me the flower of an honest mind, and it has ever since been 

 growing in the air of the spiritual uplands in which my 

 friend lived. Thus, while I have been working out 

 sincerity, my friend has been working in me, and the 

 Eternal Spirit in us both. 



(d) But man not only shares the ideals of the Eternal 

 Spirit, he is also a "partaker" of Divine Power to give 

 those ideals a local habitation and a name on the earth. 

 He is a "co-worker with God." It is not possible for 

 him, it is true, to change the laws of nature, for these are 

 invariable, and it is well that they are so ; otherwise we 

 could not lay our plans for seed time and harvest, rely on 

 water power or electric energy to turn the wheels that 

 grind the grain, or have confidence that the flour will 

 nourish. But while we cannot change the laws of nature, 

 we can, and do, change and readjust the order of nature. 

 We adjust the order to the accomplishment of higher ideals. 

 * ' Life is one stupendous succession of interferences. We 



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