Self-contemplation of Spirit as the Creative Power is as true in the
microcosm as in the macrocosm, and so the individual's contemplation of
himself as subject to the law of sin and death keeps him subject to that
law, while the opposite self-contemplation, the contemplation of himself as
rejoicing in the Life of the Spirit, the Perfect Law of Liberty, must
necessarily produce the opposite results.

Why, then, should not regeneration be accomplished here and now? I can see
no reason against it, either Scriptural or philosophical, except our own
difficulty in getting rid of the race-traditions which are so deeply
embedded in our subjective minds. To get rid of these we require a firm
basis on which to receive the opposite suggestion. We need to be convinced
that our ideal of a regenerated self is in accord with the Normal Standard
of Humanity and is within the scope of the laws of the universe. Now to
make clear to us the _infinitude_ of the truly Normal Standard of Humanity
is the whole purpose of the Bible; and the Manifestation of this Standard
is set before us in the Central Personality of the Scriptures who is at
once the Son of God and the Son of Man--the Great Exception, if you will,
to man as we know him now, but the Exception which proves the Rule. In
proportion as we begin to realize this we begin to introduce into our own
life the action of that Personal Factor on which all further development
depends; and when our recognition is complete we shall find that we also
are children of God.





CHAPTER IX