Spiritual Admiration

The boundary between spiritual life and spiritual death is admiration . Between seeing the beauty without desiring it and seeing the beauty with desire there seems but a thin line , but it is a line of infinitude ; it is the difference between the almost and the altogether . Admiration of Christ's beauty is the lowest step of the ladder , but it is a step . It may exist where the deeds of life are not in harmony with its ideal , but it is the prophesy of the future perfection , the pledge of good things to come . My soul, bethink thee , that which thou admirest must be allied to thyself . Thou could not possibly admire it if it had nothing in common with you . Like can only be known by like ; love cannot be recognised by selfishness, nor can the face of purity be be beheld by moral debasement . Therefore it is that the words are written , "Without holiness no man can see the Lord." It is not a threat ; it is a statement of a divine which is also a human law . You cannot see anything that is not already in you You cannot see beauty if you have not a sense of beauty , you cannot love virtue , if you have not the germ of goodness  If , when Jesus of Nazareth passes by , you have felt a glow of admiration , a longing to be like Him ,and  a thirsting to be near Him  - by that admiring glow you know that already He has been with you . You could not kindle at His presence if His presence were alien to you , you could not imitate His likeness if conformity to His image had not even now begun . All imitation is the fruit of some likeness , it does not precede but follow the conformity of nature . That to which you aspire is the shadow of something already hidden in the heart , and it is this that makes your aspiration precious . In the longing of your heart for Him the Son of Man beholds Himself in you ; In the approach of your spirrit to Him He learns that His spirit has drawn near to you . The beauty by which you see Him is His own beauty , The love which you long for Him is His own love , the light by which you seek Him is His own light . Your longing is the measure of thee , your conscious want is the test of your possibilities , your aspiration is the prop[hesy of your stature ; the beauty of the Lord is in you when you have seen and desired His beauty

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