Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1917 — The Sufficiency of Grace [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Sufficiency of Grace

By REV. HOWARD W. POPE

Moody Bible Institute, Chicago

TEXT—lnstead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and Instead of the brier shall cotne up the myrtle tree.—lsa. 55:13.

In this verse we have a striking lesson on the substitutions of grace. .It

would be a good deal to dig up the thorn, and cut down the briers, but God does far more. He substitwtes Io Ltka.. thornbush the tall and beautiful fir tree, and for the hateful briefs the graceful myrtle. Occasionally ’ a student comes to our office after a stay of a few days, and informs us that he is about to leave the

school. When we inquire for the reason, he answers that he does not like the teaching. . When pressed for an explanation, he says, “Well, you do not teach the doctrine of eradication.” “And what do you mean by that?” “I mean that God removes the roots of sin from our nature, so that one will not sin, and your school does not teach that doctrine, does it?” “No, but we teach something far better.” “ What- tfo yoUmcan ? I did not know that there was anything better than the eradication of sin.” “Oh yes, the substitution of grace is far superior. Instead of digging out the roots of sin, God plants in our nature the germs of grace, which overrun, and InTime run out the seeds of evil. ‘lnstead of the thorn shall come up the Are tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle.’ ” Luther Burbank takes the prairie cactus, whose sharp thorns are the terror of num and beast, and converts it into a nourishing food, on which the cattle fatten and flourish. What was once a thing to be dreaded is now a Trroans of support; The apple tree which once bore nothing but sour and bitter fruit, small in size, and rough in appearance, by the simple process of grafting can be made to produce apples which are large, sweet and luscious.- - It is the same old tree, but a new principle has been Introduced; arid that hew nature dominates and determines the whole output of the tree. I once saw a lemon tree In California which had been grafted until it was bearing 22 different kinds of luscious fruit. What Burbank and others are doing in the realm of nature, God is continually doing in the realm of grace. He does not destroy the tree which bears bitter fruit, but he grafts Into it the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and soon that tred is rich and beautiful with all the fruits of the Spirit. /“Thou art Simon,” said Jesus, the first time he met him, and Simon in his circle of friends was a synonym for fickleness, and instability. But knowing what grace could do for that big-hearted fisherman, Jesus added, “Thou shalt be called Cephas,” which means “a rock,” and is a symbol of 'flrmness.''”Tet^TnFaTly“^cH7 < a"The'' point where he could truthfully say that he was kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. =

James and John were so hot tempered and violent that they were surnamed “Boanerges”—sons of thunder, but grace led one of them to die as a jmdJhejitheiLta be called the apostle of love. What God has done for others, he will do for us. If there are thorns of selfishness and briers of envy or malice in our character, we must not be satisfied with their extermination, but ask God to~ ~ give us the very opposite of these, the love which suffereth long and is kind, which envieth not and is not puffed up. Where the thorns of criticism and faultfinding grew, there let us claim a tall and stately growth of generous praise, and hearty appreciation. Let us never be satisfied with overcoming the petty faults and foibles of our character, but ask God also to adorn our lives with all the graces and virtues that are in Christ Jesus, instead of the briers, the beautiful myrtle, the graceful smilax, and the sweet-scented apbutus. —w “ It may be that there are some thorns in our own environment, as well aS in our character; some things which are hard to bear, and painful to endure. God can change these thorns into roses, these painful conditions into a source of gratitude and praise. Raul had a thprn in his flesh, and so perhaps have you—a disagreeable employer, or an uncongenial roommate. Paul found God’s grace sufficient to change that painful thorn Into his greatest blessing, and so may you and I.

Christ by his resurrection has even robbed death of Its sting and converted it into a gateway to heaven. Yes, grace is sufficient for all things. Grace, fathomless as the sea, Grace flowing from Calvary, Grace enough for eternity—--—-Grace enough for me. It is not enough to do good, one must do lit in the right way.—Lord Morley. *