By J.R. Miller
A good beginning is half. Many people spend the latter part of their years--in correcting the errors of the earlier part, and by the time they are ready to live--the end has come! A good beginning at once turns all the energies into the right channels. No golden years need then be wasted in unlearning false lessons, in revising unwise or impracticable plans or in retracing one's steps.
Many a career of brilliant possibilities is marred by a wrong beginning. There are mistakes of early life which men never get over. A bad foundation has caused the wreck of many a noble building. Inadequate preparation for a business or a calling leads, at the best--to impaired success--and most frequently results, in the end, in utter failure.
These principles apply in Christian life. It is of the utmost importance that we start well. Many Christians walk in doubt and shadow all their days, never entering into rich joy and peace--because at the beginning they failed to realize the blessedness of the privileges to which, as children of God, they are entitled. Many others never attain anything noble and beautiful in Christian life and character because at the beginning, they did not wholly disentangle themselves from their old life and fully consecrate themselves to Christ!
A good beginning, therefore, involves two things--clearness and definiteness of aim, with intelligent views of the nature and meaning of the Christian life; and completeness of consecration.
Many men fail in life because they have no settled purpose, no well defined plan. They have no goal set before them which with all their energies they strive to reach. There is in their mind no clear and distinct idea toward which they struggle. They merely drift on the current, and are borne by it withersoever it flows. They are not masters in life--but poor slaves. They conquer nothing--but are the mere creatures of circumstance. Such lives, however, are unworthy of intelligent beings endowed with immortal powers, and they never reach any high degree of nobleness or success.
No sculptor touches the marble--until he has in his mind a definite conception of his work as it will appear when it has been finished. He sees a vision before him of a very lovely form, and then sets to work to fashion the vision in the stone. No builder begins to erect a house until a complete plan embracing every detail has been adopted. Before he strikes a stroke--he knows precisely what the finished structure will be. No one would cut into a web of rich and costly cloth, until he had before him the pattern of the garment he would make. In all work on material things, men have definite aims before they begin their work, and know precisely what they intend to produce.
But in life itself and in living, in character building, in destiny shaping--many fail to exercise such wisdom. Multitudes never give one earnest thought to such questions as these: "What is my life? For what purpose is it entrusted to me? What ought I to do with it? What should be the great aim of my existence? What should I strive to be and to do?" Thousands live aimlessly, having no true sense of the responsibility of living, never forming a resolute purpose to rise to any noble height, or to achieve any worthy thing. An immortal life should have its aim ever shining before it--as bright and clear as a star in the heavens. To grow up as a plant--without thought or purpose--is well enough for a plant--for God clothes it and shapes it into marvelous beauty. But men with undying souls and measureless possibilities, should have a purpose worthy of their immortality, and should strive with heroic energy to attain it!
In entering the Christian life there should be a clear aim. We should know definitely what this new life is, which we have now to live. With only vague ideas of the meaning of a Christian life--its ideal, its requirements, its privileges, the duties which belong to it--no one can begin well. All is vague and misty, and while it is so, we cannot put any purpose or energy into our life. We need to understand the new relations into which we come as children of God, in order that we may realize the privileges of our position. We need to have a clear conception of the final aim of all Christian attainment and aspiration, in order that we may strive toward it! We need to know what is required of a Christian toward his God, and toward his fellow men--in order that we may faithfully and intelligently perform all our duties. We need to know the conditions of Christian life--its needs, its dangers--in order that we may avail ourselves of the necessary helps provided for us. Thus a clear and intelligent aim--is essential in beginning well as a Christian.
The other essential thing in beginning well is the devotion and consecration of ourselves to the new life we have chosen. A good ideal is not enough. One may aim an arrow with perfect accuracy--but the bow must also be drawn and the cord let fly--if the arrow is to reach the mark. A vision in the brain is not enough for the sculptor--he must hew and chisel the marble into the form of his vision. The architect's plan is only a picture, and there must be toil and cost until the building stands complete in its noble beauty.
A good aim is not all of a Christian life. It is nothing more than an empty dream--unless it be wrought out in God-like character and Christ-like ministry. Every earnest Christian looks much at the glorious Master, and, as he looks, visions of wondrous beauty fill his soul--glimpses of the loveliness of Christ; and he must then seek with patient yet intense purpose--to reproduce these heavenly visions in his own life!
Many people have sublime aspirations and wishes--and even form their aspirations and wishes into intentions and resolves--who yet never take a step toward realizing them! Mere knowing what it is to be a Christian--makes no one a Christian! Many perish with the glorious ideal shining full and clear before their eyes! Merely seeing the beauty of Christ, as it is held before us for our copying--will never fashion us into that beauty. Our knowledge must be wrought into life.
The image our souls see, must be fashioned into character. Our good intentions must take form in daily deeds. Knowing God's will, we must do it with willing heart and diligent hand.
