God does not rule the world from some distant throne but from the dusty road. He does not occupy a height and frown upon His people in patronizing condescension. He seeks a warm place in their hearts, where He may guide their thoughts and actions. The divine plan looks only to the constant narrowing of the chasm between man and God. The philosophers and theologians dispute whether God is transcendent or immanent, whether He rules from above us or beside us. As is true of many arguments, both viewpoints are right. God transcends us in all power, all knowledge, and all goodness. At the same time, He is immanent in the ministry of Jesus, in the guidance of Providence, and in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The life of Jesus makes that plain, for Jesus is a picture of God going where men go, living where men live, and meeting the struggles that men meet. And so He is the Comrade Perfect. No one needs to be friendless in this world. No one needs to be lonely. We are always within speaking distance of an unfailing Friend. We need to search neither across the years nor across the miles. We need only to look and listen, and He is there. We need only to open the way, and He enters our hearts in response to our silent welcome. We need only to make a place, and He walks beside us, whatever our way may be. He is the great completing element in our otherwise incomplete lives. Four Addresses to Young People (1929) (Ages 16 to 22) 1. Heralds of the Name. In one of his letters John speaks of those who for the sake of the Name went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. He was thinking of the already growing army of heralds of that Name which is above every name. Probably, too, he was remembering that day by the Sea of Tiberius when Jesus came by and he heard and answered the challenge to life’s highest adventure. No one should offer his life for special Christian service merely because he thinks it would be nice work to do, nor because it has been done by someone he likes or admires, nor because someone he would like to please wishes him to do it, nor because he thinks he can speak well or has an attractive personality for social contacts, nor because he thinks it will serve him as a stepping stone to something else. To begin on any such a basis means to be doomed to failure from the beginning. It also means injustice to the work itself. Least of all should one enter special Christian service because he thinks it easy. That is one of the greatest possible mistakes. Whoever goes out to serve Christ must prepare his soul to endure hardness as a good soldier. He will discover that it is a real warfare into which he is going. If he likes the thrill of adventure, if he enjoys doing difficult things, if privation appeals to him, if he does not mind standing up to duty in the face of opposition and danger, then he will like soldiering for Christ. Otherwise, he will not.