The more we open our hearts to receive his love, the more
perfect will be the love we shall bear towards our fellow-beings. The
more constantly we feel that we are in his presence, the more perfect
will be the hourly outgoings of our lives.
Intimate Companionship with the Lord does not abstract us from the world
around us, but fills that world with new meanings. There is nothing
abstract in the nature of the Deity. He is operating perpetually upon
all nature. Gravity, organic life, instinct, human thought and
affection, are forms of his influx manifesting itself in varying
relations. Wherever he comes there is life, and his activity knows no
end.
Let no human being think that he holds Companionship with the Lord,
because he loves to retire apart, to pray, or to contemplate the divine
attributes, if, at such times, he looks down upon, and shuns the haunts
of men. The bigot may do so; and all his thoughts about things holy, all
his prayers, only confirm him in his spiritual pride. Every thought of
self-elevation, every feeling that tends towards "I am holier than
thou," smothers the breath of all true prayer, and associates us with
the spirit of evil; for our prayers cannot be blessed to us if pride
inspire them. Neither let any one suppose himself spiritual because
material life or material duties oppress him. God made the material
world as a school for his children; and he will not keep us here a
moment after we are prepared for a higher state.
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