JESUS CHRIST, as we have seen, was the supreme factor in God's revelation to men. He was that because he was God manifest in the flesh, the divine life lived under human conditions. For the same reason, no doubt, he was the medium of life for man. As Adam stood at the head of the race by generation, so Christ stands at the head of a race by regeneration. "In him was life, and the life was the light of men," says John. "I am come," said Jesus, "that ye might have life and that more abundantly." He also said to the Jews, "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life." He is, therefore, the life-giver for humanity. The life here meant is the life of God in the souls of men, the life eternal. It is the life referred to by Jesus when he said, "And this is life eternal, to know God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." To know God as Christ has shown him to us, not theoretically, but in the actual experiences of the soul in vital relation with him, is for the soul to have entered upon a new career, and into the life which is life indeed. It is the, life which triumphs over death, because it does not depend on physical conditions and relationships. It is the life which made it impossible for Christ to be held in bondage to death, and which is shared by all who have entered into union with him.
As separation from God means death, so union with him means life. Science tells us that life is "harmony with environment." This is rather the condition of life, and it is as true of spiritual life as it is of material life. As the plant or tree lives only as it maintains union with its environment of earth, air and water, from which it derives the elements necessary to perpetuate its life, so the soul of man lives by virtue of its union with God in Christ, which is its environment, "for in him we live, move and have our being." As disobedience, through unbelief, produces separation from God, which is death, so obedience, through faith, produces union with God in Christ, which is life.
The evangelistic message that deals simply with negations, and fails to give emphasis to the positive life forces which abide in Jesus Christ, which widen, deepen, enrich and ennoble human life, giving it a scope, dignity, beauty, value and conscious aim which it cannot otherwise possess, omits a most vital and winning feature of that gospel which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. Salvation is something vastly greater than escape from the consequences of sin, important as that is. It is sharing the divine life. It is being equipped for life's mission. It is the consecration of one's powers to worthy ends. It is to enter into partnership with God to work out one's own salvation and to seek the salvation of others. It is to receive spiritual vision by which one sees God and invisible realities, and gets a true view of life's meaning and mission. It is to open one's heart and mind to new tides of life and light, of joy and peace which flow in from God. It is to attain such love for God and for one's fellow men as makes suffering and sacrifice in their behalf a privilege and opportunity. In a word, it, is character, patterned after Christ and receiving its inspiration from him.
All this is included in God's gift to the world, of his Son Jesus Christ, and to receive him is to be potentially enriched with all the blessings he brings for humanity, to be progressively appropriated as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. Such an equipment enables one to challenge death, as Paul does, saying, "0 Death, where is thy sting! O Death, where is thy victory!" It has "the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." It fits him for citizenship in the kingdom of God here and hereafter. The same principles which make for the enlargement of life here, and fit us for the greatest usefulness in this life, prevail beyond that change which we call death.
Christ's place in the life of humanity, then, is that of Leader, Life-giver, Savior, Example, Helper of all who put their trust in him, and the fulfillment of man's dearest hopes and truest aspirations. With such a Christ to present to men, the minister of God has a message of life and hope that ought to win the thoughtful and favorable consideration of all who value their own destiny or feel any concern for the welfare of the race.
