Young
reader there is no such thing as a religion of words and feelings alone,
it must be a religion of _acts_; a life of warfare against the sins that
most easily beset you; a mortification of selfishness and pride, and a
humble acknowledgment, when you have done your _very best_, that you are
only unprofitable servants. Had you heard Emilie communing with her own
heart, you would have heard no self gratulation. She was far from
perfect even in the sight of man; in the sight of God she knew that in
many things she offended.
It is not a perfect character that I would present to you in Emilie
Schomberg; but one who with all the weakness and imperfection of human
nature, made the will of God her rule and delight. This is not natural,
it is the habit of mind of those only who are created anew, new
creatures in Christ Jesus.
This you may be sure Emilie did not fail to teach her pupil; but a great
many such lessons may be received into the head without one finding an
entrance to the heart, and Edith was in the not very uncommon habit of
looking on her faults in the light of misfortunes, just as any one might
regard a deformed limb or a painful disorder.
Pages:
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61