Man was created in the
image and likeness of God; and he becomes truly a man only so far as,
through the grace of God, his whole being voluntarily assumes that
resemblance to the All-perfect for which he was designed. So long as he
makes no effort to become regenerate, after he has arrived at an age to
be at liberty to choose between good and evil, he turns himself more and
more away from God, and becomes less and less like him. While in this
state, he may possess many seeming virtues, may enjoy an untarnished
reputation, may win the love of many friends; but is none the less the
hollow image of that which should be the substance of a man. He is
following only the devices of his own heart,--seeking only the good
things of this world; and there is no virtue in anything that he does,
though he may seem to devote all that he has, or all that he is, to
purposes of charity or reform. Man begins to be truly virtuous,--to be
truly a man, only when, relying on the strength of the Lord to sustain
his endeavors, he begins to avoid sin because it is abhorrent to God,
and to fulfil the commandments because they are the words of God. Then
only he begins to form himself into the symmetrical figure of a man;
and to become perfect after the manner in which the Heavenly Father is
perfect.
The virtues all lock into each other. They cannot stand alone. Like the
stones of an arch, no one of them can be wanting without making all the
rest insecure.
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