. But if they come back beaten, they shrink
aside and hide their shame. If we are to meet Jesus Christ with quiet
hearts, and we certainly shall meet Him, we must meet Him 'without spot
and blameless.' The discovery, then, of what men truly are will be like
the draining of the bed of a lake. Ah, what ugly, slimy things there are
down in the bottom! What squalor and filth flung in from the houses, and
covered over many a day by the waters! All that surface work will be
drained off from the hearts of men. Shall we show slime and filth, or
shall we show lovely corals and silver sands without a taint or a speck?

These are the details of the life's aim of a Christian man. And they may
all be gathered up into one. The end which we should seek as sovereign
and high above all others is the conformity of our character to Jesus
Christ our Lord. Never mind about anything else; let us leave all in
God's hands. He will do better for us than we can do for ourselves. Let
us trust Him for the contingent future; and let us set ourselves to
secure this, that, whether joy or sorrow, whether wealth or poverty,
whether success or failure, whether sweet companionship or solitary
tears be our lot for the rest of our lives, we may grow in grace, and in
the knowledge and likeness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Make
that your aim, and freshness, buoyancy, enthusiasm, the ennobling of
everything in this world, and the bending of all to be contributory of
it, will gladden your days. Make anything else your aim, and you fail of
your highest purpose, and your life, however successful, will be dreary
and disappointed, and its end will be shame.

III. Lastly, notice the earnest diligence with which that aim should be
pursued, in the light of that hope.

Peter is fond of using the word which is here translated 'be diligent.'
Hard work, honest effort, continuous and persevering, is His simple
recipe for all nobleness. You will find He employs it, for instance, at
least three times in this letter, in such connections as, 'Besides this,
giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,' and so on through the
whole glorious series; and again, 'Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election sure.' So, then, there is no
mystery about the way of securing the aim; work towards it, and you will
get it.

Now, of course, there are a great many other considerations to be
brought in in reference to the Christian man's mean