V. The highest character a man can have is the Christian Character.--(1) Christ is the giver of a noble character. It is possible to be united to Christ as the branch is united to the tree; and when we are so, His life passes into ours: a change in character comes to us; we are renewed in the inward man, old things pass away, and all things become new. In the life of St. Paul we have a striking instance how coming to Christ effects a change in character. He became a different man from what he was; he received a new inward life; a transfiguring change passed over the entire character; the life he lived in the flesh became a life of faith in the Son of God; and his experience has been the experience of many. The source of the highest and noblest character is Christ. (2) Christ is also the _standard_ of a noble character; the true ideal of manhood is found in Him: "the stature of the fulness of Christ." Take the following illustration: "In Holland we travel with Dutch money, in France with French money, in Germany with German money. The standard of the coinage varies with every state we go into. In Britain there is one standard of coinage; we may get some corrupted money or some light coin, but the standard of coinage is the same. The standard for the Christian is the same throughout the years and in all places: the one perpetual standard of the life of Christ." The best men are those who come the nearest to it. Those who come nearest to it are those who will do best in the practical conduct of life. CHAPTER II. SUCCESS IN LIFE. We often hear the word success used. The great wish that most have in beginning life is that they may be successful. One man constantly asks another the question regarding a third, How has he succeeded? What is success in life? It may perhaps be defined in this way: It is to obtain the greatest amount of happiness possible to us in this world. There are two things to be borne in mind in estimating what success is: I. Lives which according to some are successful must in the highest sense be pronounced failures.--The idea of many is that success consists in the gaining of a livelihood, or competency, or wealth; but a man may gain these things who yet cannot be said to have succeeded. If he gets wealth at the expense of health, or if he gets it by means of trickery and dishonest practices, he can hardly be said to have succeeded. He does not get real happiness with it. If a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul, he cannot be said to have succeeded. True success in life is when a fair share of the world's good does not cost either physical or intellectual or moral well-being.