eat
pictures of the glorified Christ there is a halo of light encircling
and illuminating his face. That is the fictitious glory, the glory of
possession. In a few such paintings the light streams from the
Master's face to illuminate the other figures of the scene. That is
the real glory, the glory of transmission.

And such is the only glory in life. A man looks at learning or power
or refinement or wealth and says: "This is glory; this is success; this
is the pride of life." But there is really nothing glorious about
possession. It may be most inglorious and mean,--as {8} mean when the
possession is brains or power as when it is bonds or wheat. Indeed,
there is rarely much that is glorious or great about so slight or
evanescent a thing as a human life. The glory of it lies in its being
able to say, "The glory that thou hast given me I give to them." The
worth of life is in its transmissive capacity. In the wonderful system
of the telephone with its miracle of intercommunication there is, as
you know, at each instrument that little film of metal which we call
the transmitter, into which the message is delivered, and whose
vibrations are repeated scores of miles away. Each human life is a
transmitter. Take it away from its transmissive purpose, and what a
poor insignificant film a human life may be. But set it where it
belongs, in the great system where it has its part, and that
insignificant film is dignified with a new significance. It is as if
it said to its God: "The message which Thou givest me I give to them,"
and every word of God that is spoken into it is delivered through it to
the lives that are wearily waiting for the message as though it were
far away.

{9}

IV

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

_Matthew_ v. 16.

At the first reading there certainly seems to be something of
self-assertion and self-display about this passage, as if it said: "Let
your light so shine that people may see how much good you do." But, of
course, nothing could be farther than this from the spirit of Jesus.
Indeed, his meaning is the precise opposite of this. For he is
speaking not of a light which is to illuminate you, but of a light
which is to shine from you upon your works; so that they, and not you,
are seen, and the glory is given, not to you, but to God. Such a light
will hide you rather than exhibit you, as when one holds a lantern
before him on some dark road, so that while the bearer of the lantern
is i