He dwells in the human heart, and
fills it with his love; he dwells in the family, and
becomes its ornament as when he dwelt in the house of
Lazarus; he dwells in the church, and makes it a fold in
which he nurtures his lambs.
Christians wandering over the earth like sheep having no
shepherd, isolated from their brethren, dwelling
alone--however frequent this spectacle now--is not often
witnessed in the New Testament. There they congregated in
churches. But this experiment of isolation is most
perilous to the individual, and a prodigal expenditure of
the wealth of the church, which has souls for her hire. It
is true that a few persons become centers of attraction to
new churches that grow up around them; but very many are
lost in the great whirlpool of this world's strife.
What, then, is the remedy? Evidently this: Jesus accepts
no divided empire in the human heart. He will have all or
nothing. The Church of Christ, the cause of Christ, the
people of Christ--these must be the centers of attraction
to which the heart of the Christian turns with all the
enthusiasm with which an Eastern idolater bows before the
shrine of his idol.
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