I honor the
sceptic, the faithful and devout sceptic, with all my soul. I am no
scorner of the man who, without scorn, finds it impossible to accept
that which to my soul seems to be the absolute truth. I will scorn only
that which God scorns. He scorns the scorner, and only the scorning man
is worthy of the scorn of human kind. But while I honor the sceptic,
while I invite him to make manifest his scepticism, not merely for his
sake but for my own, I will not hold, I cannot hold that he is living a
larger life than the man whom the Christ invites to every noble duty, to
every faithful fulfilment of himself. I will feel that he, perhaps by
the necessity of his nature, perhaps by his circumstances, perhaps by
something which came down to him from his ancestors, is shut in, is a
contained and hampered and hindered man, and I will long for the day
when he, lifting up his eyes, sees that Christ walking in the midst of
humanity, and yet at the head of humanity, manifesting our human nature,
but outgoing our human nature, glorifying our streets while He
interprets our streets for the first time into their full meaning,
giving to our shops and houses a radiancy which they have expected and
dreamed of, but never felt, and tempting us always into a deeper belief
in Him, which, embodying itself in a completer consecration to the right
and true, shall lead us on into the fulness which he fills. Can I, can
you, have Christ in human history, Christ in the world, and live as if
He were not here? Will you not give yourself to that of Him which you
know to-day? Will you not at least lay hold of the very skirts of His
garment and say, "I see that Thou art good, I see that Thou art true.
Lead me into the goodness and truth which by communion and sympathy
shall know Thee more. Lord, I believe. I believe just a little. Lord, I
know that that must come which Thou hast said has come in Thee. I would
enter into Thee, to see whether it has indeed come in Thee, and Thou
shalt lead me, Thou shalt teach me. Lord, I believe. I have not grasped
Thee. No man has grasped Thee. The man who says that he has grasped Thee
proves thereby that he does not know Thee. I know that I have not
grasped Thee, but I will follow Thee by doing righteousness, by serving
truth, by knowing and acknowledging Thee until all of that shall become
clear to me. I will follow Thee, and Thou shalt lead me into the glory
which Thou Thyself abidest in. Lord, I believe, Lord, I be