ling of a
new spiritual power. 'For me to live is Christ,' says St. Paul. 'This
is life eternal,' says St. John, 'that they may know Thee the only true
God, and Him whom Thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.'[10]

2. _Life as Expansion of Personality_.--By its inherent power it grows
outwards as well as inwards. The New Testament conception of life is
existence in its fullest expression and fruitfulness. The ideal as
presented by Christ is no anaemic state of reverie or ascetic withdrawal
from human interest. It is by the elevation and consecration of the
natural life, and not by its suppression, that the 'good' is to be
realised. The natural life is to be transformed, and the very body
presented unto God as a living sacrifice.[11] So far from Christianity
being opposed to the aim of the individual to find himself in a world of
larger interests, it is only in the active and progressive realisation of
such a life that blessedness consists. Herein is disclosed, however, the
defect of the modern ideal of culture which has been associated with the
name of Goethe. In Christ's ideal self-sufficiency has no place. While
rightly interpreted the 'good' of life includes everything that enriches
existence and contributes to the efficiency and completeness of manhood,
mere self-culture and artistic expression are apt to become perverted
forms of egoism, if not subordinated to the spirit of service which alone
can give to the human faculties their true function and exercise. Hence
life finds its real utterance not in the isolated development of the
self, but in the fullness of personal relationships. Only in response to
the needs of others can a man realise his own life. In answer to the
young ruler who asked a question 'concerning that which is good,' Christ
replied, 'If thou wilt enter into life keep the {131} commandments'; and
the particular duties He mentioned were those of the second table of the
Decalogue.[11] The abundance of life which Christ offers consists in the
mutual offices of love and the interchange of service. Thus
self-realisation is attained only through self-surrender.[13] The
self-centred life is a barren life. Not by withholding our seed but by
flinging it forth freely upon the broad waters of humanity do we attain
to that rich fruition which is 'life indeed.'

3. _Life as Eternal Good_.--Whatever may be the accurate signification
of the word 'eternal,' the words 'eternal life,' regarded as th