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' He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

Matthe w V 45.

·• By the sun in the highest spiritual sense is meant the Divine Love, and by the rain the Divine Wisdom ."

Divine Providence 292 .

. . unless they were given no one would have perception and thought."

Divine Providence 173.

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" Agree with thine adversary quickly whiles thou art in the way with him." Matthew V. 25.

IN OUR EARTHLY LIFE we meet with varied experiences, many happy, giving us no little pleasure and satisfaction; quite a lot troublesome, irritating, distressing. How do we react to what happens to us? To what is pleasurable in our experience we react with pleasure- there is no difficulty about that- but how do we behave under stress of seemingly untoward happenings, experiences that hit hard and cut right across our ambitions? Naturally, we tend to resent troublesome things; we prefer an existence that goes as merrily as a mar­riage bell. There is a native disposition in us to display irritation when things go awry, even to fulminate and rage when we

5

cannot have our own way. When we are interrupted in some delightful occupation we become impatient: when things hap­pen that prevent us from making a bee­line to our personal objective we are apt to lose our temper.

How we react under stress of circum­stance inevitably depends upon our char­acter: the merely natural man resents opposition to his desires, but the man with a sane spiritual philosophy accepts it patiently and turns it to good account. Such a philosophy gives us sufficient clair­voyance to see that in life it is not what happens to us that really matters, but how we behave under varied experiences.

Pleasurable events give us satisfaction, but probably they do little to advance our regeneration. In the development of truly spiritual life greater advantage may be extracted from the difficulties which test us. He is wise who realizes that he may be

6

more fully blessed through trial than through satisfaction of his native desires . Granted that we have a mind to learn, Sorrow may teach us more of angelic wis­dom than Pleasure can possibly yield. The spiritual pilgrim treats every hard experi­ence with courtesy, knowing that it has a lesson for him and that his spiritual fibre is strengthened by patient endurance and wise acceptance of hardness. "In your patience ye shall win your souls"-these words were spoken by the Lord to men whom he was preparing for bitter experi­ences. He did not counsel resignation, but endurance, the cultivation of a patience which in the end yields spiritual benefit.

Everything may be for good

From time immemorial there have been men and women who have taught and

7

exemplified what may be called 'The Philosophy of Acceptance'. It implies a mode of mind and life which takes all experiences in its stride, and endures hard­ship as stuff to try its strength upon.

This sane philosophy counsels us to accept all life's situations cheerfully, with effort to understand them and turn them to good account. It assures us that there is nothing that can happen to us that need daunt our spirits and that cannot be dealt with advantageously. We may gain more from apparent failure than from seeming success. The good that we desire may not eventuate, but something better will emerge. What is difficult is not to be resented, but accepted as a means of grace. We should co-operate with experiences we do not like, not fight them. This doctrine is implicit in the precept of the Lord Jesus, "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him".

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This doctrine becomes all the more impressive in the light of an understanding that there is an over-ruling providence affecting the smallest details of our lives: there is nothing that can happen to us that cannot be made to minister to our eternal welfare. And we can all the more effectu­ally exercise patient acceptance of life's str.ess when we know that the great issue intended by God is the growth of angelic character which is to find its eternal expression in the conditions of an imper­ishable heavenly society. Character alone endures ; it is character which produces heaven or hell.

It is recorded in the Bible that when the children of Israel, in their wilderness wan­derings, came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters there because they were bitter. The story is a parable for all time and gives a lesson from which all may profit. Taking the story parabolically, we see that the reference is to bitter, trying

9

experiences we encounter. They seem to be beyond endurance: we feel that we cannot drink from the bitter cup. On self­examination, we discover that the bitter­ness exists mainly in ourselves, in our resentment, our rebellion, our unwilling­ness to profit by circumstances we do not enjoy. When things seem to go awry we may meet them with bad temper and bitter invective: in such case, we not only make matters worse, we accentuate in ourselves a disposition that will add to our troubles; the bitterness is intensified.

In the Marah story, the bitter waters were made sweet by a divinely dictated proceeding. The Lord showed Moses a tree which, when cast into the waters, made them sweet. That tree, a living thing aspiring heavenward, is symbolic of a spiritual realization- an inward percep­tion that good may grow out of what seems to be evil. When we perceive that the Lord is working for our good through

10

the agency of trying experiences they are no longer bitter or the occasion of bitter­ness. Why should we resent that which is employed in the formation of heavenly character? All bitterness is removed and life becomes a sweet thing when we under­stand that we live under a purpose of good. Whether life is sweet and fragrant to us , or no, depends upon our appreciation of that purpose of good, and upon our recog­nition of the activity of the Divine Spirit in the common experiences of life. It is easy enough to acknowledge the Lord in a creedal formul'!:, but quite a different thing to see Him and recognise His pur­pose amidst life's turmoil. Surely, we are all in dire need of a settled conviction that God is with us through weal and woe­with us to heal and to bless, to bring light out of darkness and to sweeten the experi­ences of every day.

But there is a further point in the Marah story. Take note of the words, "If thou

11

wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee" (Exodus xv, 26). Here there is an exhorta­tion to obedience and an insistence that the true servant of God becomes immune from the moral and spiritual uneasiness, unrest and bitterness which afflicts the sensuously-minded worldlings who have no faith in God and no heavenly vision. Obedience to the Lord and His law means co-operation with Him, acceptance of discipline, working with life instead of opposing it. Here we have disclosed to us an open secret, open to all, but alas, per­ceived by few. It is the revelation of the real art of living, of the way of genuine prosperity and success. This secret is acceptance of our experiences, co-operat­ing with them, finding God in them, and

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obedience to the truth He reveals through them.

Not resignation

Time was when some of our pastors and masters insisted that we should be resigned to our circumstances, accepting poverty or disease as the will of God, or virtual slavery as a cross meekly to be borne. This was a very handy doctrine for the 'top dog' always anxious to keep 'the bottom dog' in his place, but it has no justification in the Christian gospel. The acceptance of which we are thinking is certainly not resignation. To be resigned to conditions means to lie down to them, to be domin­ated by them, to do nothing about them, to submit to their tyranny, to be enslaved by them. Acceptance is quite a different thing: it is a free and intelligent response

13

to a challenge, involving a determined effort to understand its import and turn it to good account. Resignation is the sub­mission of a slave, a defeatist attitude ; acceptance is a disposition of the free spirit which is not beaten by circumstances, but makes good use of them.

The philosophy of acceptance is implicit in the teaching of Jesus. We see it in the precept, "Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain", or, as we have it in Rieu's translation, "If anyone impresses you to go a mile, go with him for two".

The word 'impresses' is referable to the Roman law under which a citizen of an occupied country could be impressed to carry a Roman soldier's equipment a cer­tain distance. There was a quite natural objection to such a demand, but Jesus insisted that the burden of it should be accepted in all good humour, even as he counselled paying tribute to Caesar. Here,

14

His hearers were shown a practical way in which they could display love to the enemy - by helping him with his load. The so­regarded enemy, was to be regarded as a human being as much in need of goodwill and help as any friend.

The equipment of a Roman soldier was by no means light. When sweating under its weight he was to be pitied. When the citizen was impressed to carry it, or part of it, he should accept the situation as man to man, and man for man, and, if need be, help the soldier with his burden far beyond the regulation distance. Such action was 'matey'. Resistance to the regulation led to painful consequences : why not make the best of the business, develop virtue out of necessity, and, in the process, convert an enemy into a friend? Imagine the astonishment and pleasure of a soldier addressed in some such terms as these, "Look here, old fellow, I've enjoyed your company and have been quite glad to help

15

you on your way. We've reached the end of the compulsory mile, but I'm quite will­ing to carry your load twice as far if it will do you any good".

"Bear ye one another's burdens", quoth Paul, "and so fulfil the law of Christ".

During World War II, an enemy airman most inconsiderately dropped a bomb near to my home. The blast wrecked doors and windows and brought ceilings crashing to the floors. It was not a pleasant experi­ence; but it had to be accepted. The situa­tion could not possibly be improved by cursing the enemy, wringing hands in despair, or asking why God allowed such things. The thing to be done was to clear up the mess and be thankful that the damage was not so bad as it might have been.

A small child toddling about the house runs against a stool and gets its leg hurt. Fond but foolish Mamma smothers the child with kisses and smacks the stool, say-

16

~ ing, 'Naughty stool'. Better would it be for Mamma immediately and without fuss to set about alleviating the pain suffered by the child, warning it to beware of such obstacles in the future. Why blame the inanimate stool for the child's blunder? Doing so encourages that rather nasty habit of apportioning blame. A culprit must be found for everything that goes wrong! Damage done must be accepted just as it is, no matter who may happen to be responsible for it. Setting about its repair is the obvious thing to do. If repair is impossible then the matter should be written off as 'just one of those things'.

Our philosophy of acceptance implies acceptance of other people as they are, not as we think they ought to be. Most of us rather like to see our own image reflected in the personalities of those in close con­tact with us. We criticise them if they fail to like what we like, or if they venture to express ideas we do not favour. Too often,

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our way of doing a job is deemed by us to be the only satisfactory way, although it may be accomplished quite as efficiently in half a dozen other ways.

In our romantic life we tend to love our­selves in the object of our adoration and are disappointed when he or she does not come up to our standard. Such egoism leads to wrecked marriages.

Truly, it takes all sorts of people to make a world: this is a fact to be accepted. Creation is a unity in diversity. Varied personalities are intended to contribute to a harmonious whole. Each human indivi­dual has a specific endowment which marks him off from his fellows. Living in tune with the Infinite intensifies and enriches personality: it sublimates affec­tion and thought and exalts our native endowments to the highest possible degree of distinctiveness.

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Ours would be a poor sort of society if it were composed of people all of the same calibre and outlook. The monotony of it would be devastating. Variety of religious thought is something to rejoice in, not to be deplored. It is not for us to regard a man as a 'wrong 'un' just because he happens to be a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Parsee or a Confucian. All who acknowledge God and live according to his laws written on their hearts are of the Grand Spiritual Brother­hood. When we arrive in the eternal world and our value there is assessed, I cannot think we shall be asked about our sectarian associations; the great consideration will be, Have we done justly, loved mercy, and humbled ourselves to walk with God?

Among our many acceptances, we ought to evaluate and accept ourselves as we really are. This is not an easy thing to do, for it means being honest with ourselves. We like to think we are grand folk and are of the elect. It is not pleasant to realize

19

that we may happen to be small-minded snobs dominated by stupid prejudices. To see ourselves in true light we need to exer­cise self-examination : this reveals that all of us are capable of mean deeds and sin­ful practices. This by no means flattering discovery is off set by the realization that by God's grace there are potentialities of great good in us which can be developed so successfully as to become dominant in our character.

It is essential that we should become a ware of evil tendencies native to all man­kind, most particularly in ourselves. We all tend to be selfish, and selfishness is the parent of untold evil. Our evil tendencies need not break into actuality- they may be kept under control. Taking ourselves as we actually are, as so much material to work upon, we may grow in grace by ceasing to think and do evil, and learning to do well.

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Is it Ourselves?

Some meditation on the experiences we are counselled to accept and make the best of should prove helpful. If we are honest with ourselves we should try to see just how far we are personally responsible for the conditions under which we live. In business, or in the home there may be persons with whom we are intimately asso­ciated who disturb our peace of mind, make difficulties and create an atmosphere in which it is hard for us to live and labour. They exhibit a trying temper, a desire to dominate, and a determination to get their own way whether it be right or wrong. They are quite regardless of the suscep­tibilities of others. Indeed, we find our­selves in difficult circumstances from which there seems to be no immediate way of escape. Then we remember what we have learned about spiritual law, how we attract and repel, and tend to create our environment. We ask ourselves if there is

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something in us which attracts the difficul­ties we have to face.

There is another disturbing thought. Is it not true that we see in others a reflection of what is in ourselves? May not the evils which seem dominant in others be little more, or possibly no more, than the evils which dominate us? That which we look for and find in others is either subconsci­ously or actively present in us. Were it not so, we should have no other way of recog­nizing it, for what we notice outwardly has some correspondence with what we are inwardly. It may be that we see in others what we are looking for, or would fain attribute to them; we measure them a peck out of our own bushel. We recall the searching words, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again". "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Our per­sonal desire to have our own way may

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accentuate the love of dominating in those associated with us; our own impatience may be reflected in their bad temper.

Further thought on this matter is called for and from it we may derive some com­fort. We may see in others the evils which are not really active in ourselves, but merely potential. Also, in the behaviour of others, we may find an objective illus­tration of how we might behave if we did not exercise self-control and benefit by the grace of God. We have it in us to react vindictively, to meet bitter, stinging words with words equally bitter and stinging. We all have a capacity for retaliation. We can feel resentment even if we do not express it.

But the point is, have we, on account of evils potential in us, actually created a situation in which we have to endure the follies, foibles and disturbing attitudes of others ? Surely, it cannot be that what is

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potential can produce such results? Our responsibility for such a state of things can only exist when what is potential becomes actual and is not kept under control. If we do not return the soft answer which turneth away wrath, but match anger with anger, we do but add fuel to the fire and thus, at least, become responsible for the continuance of a situation for which we may not have been originally responsible. Whilst it is up to us always to maintain Christian behaviour, even under the most trying circumstances, and to be sure that our own motives and affections are in order, we cannot ignore the responsibility of the 'other fellow' .

Actually, we may be faced with a situa­tion of our own creation, or one in which we find ourselves. For the latter others may be responsible, and it might be said that it has been foisted upon us. In the spiritual world, our eternal abode, we shall find ourselves in associations and sur-

24

roundings which exactly match our inward state, but in this world the outer things of our experience are not so exactly matched with our disposition. Yet spiritual law operates here, as well as hereafter : as we grow in years and develop in character, we tend to emerge from present conditions and grow into others which harmonize, whether they be good or bad.

Who would venture to say that Dickens' Oliver Twist created the Bumbledom under which he suffered? By the same token, would it not be a wrong judgment to say that a woman who suffers torments at the hands of a nagging, bullying hus­band, is responsible for his over-bearing disposition and behaviour? True it is that he is an exhibition of what she might be, but has she made him what he is? Cer­tainly not, if she has always maintained a proper spiritual disposition towards him. She is the victim of a bully, not his creator. But nevertheless she has a grave respon-

25

sibility in her reaction to her bitter experi­ence. She will be sorely tempted to retali­ate, but under Christian law she must not retaliate. She should see in him how not to behave. In the density of his self-con­ceit, he may interpret her non-retaliation as weakness, and even be galled by it. Undiscerning friends might advise her to give measure for measure and insist that he could only be cured by such treatment. But what would be the result? Simply that the wife would develop a disposition matching that of her husband: then there would be two ill-affected persons in the house when erstwhile there was only one. As the saying goes, two blacks do not make one white.

The position in which the wife finds her­self, whilst most unhappy and painful, presents her with a fine spiritual opportun­ity. She has before her the alternatives of retaliation or passive resistance. Retalia­tion, though perilously easy, does no good.

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In choosing the way of passive resistance, which is the way of love, she would by Heaven's grace, strengthen in herself all that is fine and angelic and, at the same time, surround herself with a protective sphere, a 'wall of fire' which would enable her to preserve an even temper under the most intense provocation. Is not the pre­servation of our serenity a desirable and admirable thing? And does it not indicate a strength of will and character besides which the temper of a bully is nothing but weakness, no matter how he may think himself to be a man of spirit?

There are certainly experiences which we have attracted to ourselves, which we have created. The disharmony about us may be traced to a disturbing element in ourselves- our selfishness, our love of rule, our bad temper, our false thoughts. When we find ourselves in trying condi­tions, the first thing to do is to examine ourselves and discover just how far we

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have brought them on us. In the light of the teaching of the Lord Jesus we may find out just where we have gone astray and then set ourselves to right the wrong. Shunning the evils revealed to us, a new spirit will take possession of us, enabling us to produce happiness where hitherto we have created misery. But the trouble may not be in ourselves, not even a moiety of it, and if, on self-examination, we find this to be the case and we realize that other people in our circle are the creators of dis­harmony, we cannot wipe our hands of a certain responsibility. We have to accept the situation, face up to it and make the best of it. We are responsible for our reaction. Really, it does not matter so much what happens to us, but it matters greatly how we behave under the stress of circumstances.

Trying people and disconcerting experi­ences, under Divine Providence, yield

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wonderful opportunities. Strong character is formed under stress, not in tranquil ease. It is quite simple for us to be peace­ful and good-tempered when there is nothing to ruffle us; the real test of our quality comes when we encounter opposi­tion. Constituted as we are, there can be no attainment of spiritual life, as distinct from the life of worldliness, without our being submitted to testings which we know as temptations. The worthwhileness of our spiritual calibre is often indicated by the measure of temptation we victoriously endure. Thus, naturally, we crave for a life that runs smoothly as a sweet song, and although we may look forward to a happy issue from all our travail, rather than pray for cessation of our troubles we should seek for courage to endure them and the will to benefit by them. We may rest assured that they will pass when they have served their use; release from them before the time arrives would only postpone the discipline.

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What, in the last analysis, does our religion demand from us? Can it be any­thing other than the cultivation and expression of Christian love? That love is expressed in goodwill to all mankind, even to the unthankful and the evil. It is ex­tended to all that is of the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ in our fellows, to its encouragement and culture. We should regard those who injure us, not as they are in their meanness and ill-nature, but as potential angels. We should extend to them heavenly compassion, treat their foibles with patience, and try, by the Lord's Spirit, to lift them out of the hell they make for themselves. Hurt us they may, but they hurt themselves more. We regard a person suffering from physical anguish with deep pity and tenderness; how much more should we extend heav­enly tenderness and compassion to one who endures the hell of a perverted man­hood? "If we love them which love us, what reward have we; do not even the pub-

30

Iicans the same?" Christian love asks for no return; it simply loves and seeks to serve. There is little virtue in the love which is extended to those who love in return; but there is spiritual, even a divine quality in the love exercised without expectation of recompense.

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