True Manliness: From the Writings of Thomas HughesHughes, Thomas
Religion
True Manliness: From the Writings of Thomas Hughes
Hughes, Thomas
Conduct of life
I think you will find it all you are in search of and are longing for.
Above all, you will find in it and nowhere else, rest, peace—“not a
peace which depends upon compacts and bargains among men, but which
belongs to the very nature and character and being of God. Not a
peace which is produced by the stifling and suppression of activities
and energies, but the peace in which all activities and energies are
perfected and harmonized. Not a peace which comes from the toleration
of what is base or false, but which demands its destruction. Not a
peace which begins from without, but a peace which is first wrought in
the inner man, and thence comes forth to subdue the world. Not a peace
which a man gets for himself by standing aloof from the sorrows and
confusions of the world in which he is born, of the men whose nature
he shares, choosing a calm retreat and quiet scenery and a regulated
atmosphere; but a peace which has never thriven except in those who
have suffered with their suffering kind, who have been ready to give
up selfish enjoyments, sensual or spiritual, for their sakes, who have
abjured all devices of escape from ordained toils and temptations;
the peace which was His who bore the sorrows and sins and infirmities
of man, who gave up himself that he might become actually one with
them, who thus won for them a participation in the Divine nature, and
inheritance in that peace of God which passeth all understanding.”
This kingdom of God is good enough for me at any rate. I can trust him
who has brought me into it to add what he will, to open my eyes, and
strengthen my powers, that I may see and enjoy ever more and more of
it, in this world, or in any other in which he may put me hereafter.
Where that may be is no care of mine; it will be in his kingdom still,
that I know; no power in Heaven or Hell, or Earth can cast me out of
that, except I myself. While I remain in it I can freely use and enjoy
every blessing and good gift of his glorious earth, the inheritance
which he has given to us, his father’s children, his brethren. When it
shall be his good pleasure to take me out of it he will not take me
out of but bring me into more perfect communion with him and with my
brethren. He nourisheth my heart with good things on this earth, he
will not cease to do this anywhere else. He reveals himself to me here,
though as a man I cannot take in his full and perfect revelation, but
when I awake up after his likeness I shall be satisfied—and not till
then.
CXIX.
One stumbling block in your way is, you say, that you are revolted
and kept at arm’s-length by the separatist and exclusive habits and
maxims of those who profess to have the faith you want. Many of them
are kind, exemplary men, but just because they are Christians, and in
so far forth as they are Christians, they are calling to you to come
out from amongst the people of the world—to separate yourselves from an
adulterous generation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account