dish regard for glitter and
for what is present to sense, in a word, its worldliness when set over
against the life of Christ, is for ever discredited. The experience of
Christ in this world reflects such discredit upon merely worldly ways,
and so clearly exhibits its blindness, its hatred of goodness, its
imbecility when it strives to counterwork God's purposes, that no man
who morally has his eyes open can fail to look with suspicion and
abhorrence on the world. And the dignity, the love, the apprehension of
what is real and abiding in human affairs, and the ready application of
His life to a real and abiding purpose--all this, which is so visible in
the life of Christ, gives certainty and attractiveness to the principles
opposed to worldliness. We have in Christ's life at once an
authoritative and an experimental teaching on the greatest of all human
subjects--how life should be spent.

Christ has overcome the world, then, by resisting its influence upon
Himself, by showing Himself actually superior to its most powerful
influences; and His overcoming of the world is not merely a private
victory availing for Himself alone, but it is a public good, because in
His life the perfect beauty of a life devoted to eternal and spiritual
ends is conspicuously shown. The man who can look upon the conflict
between the world and Christ as John has shown it, and say, "I would
rather be one of the Pharisees than Christ," is hopelessly blind to the
real value of human life. But what says our life regarding the actual
choice we have made?

XVI.

_CHRIST'S INTERCESSORY PRAYER._

"These things spake Jesus; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He
said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may
glorify Thee: even as Thou gavest Him authority over all flesh, that
whatsoever Thou hast given Him, to them He should give eternal life.
And this is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true
God, and Him whom Thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. I glorified
Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast
given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own
self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I
manifested Thy name unto the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the
world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me; and they have
kept Thy word. Now they know that all things whatsoever Thou hast
given Me are f