the workmen would begin to polish it; at first it made no reflection at
all, but when polished for awhile would give a distorted and perverted
reflection; but in the process of polishing, that reflection would grow
clearer and clearer, when finally a man could behold his face in it
perfectly reflected. And so with us. When taken into the great spiritual
laboratory of Christianity we are blocks in the rough, but in the
polishing process of the church and spiritual surroundings we begin to
reflect the image of our Master, and when we have completed the work, we
reflect him as perfectly as a human being can. Take, for illustration,
the brothers Peter and John. At first they were called Boanerges, sons
of thunder; they wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy men who
differed from them; but in the great laboratory of the Christian life
they grew more and more Christlike, transformed by the Spirit of God,
until at last we see the old apostle John at Ephesus, beautified and
ennobled, sitting in his chair and lifting up trembling hands, and
saying to the young disciples: "Little children, love one another, for
love is of God." We see the transforming power of the spiritual
atmosphere of the church and the Christian life upon human nature.
Christian, with this illustration before you, how can you excuse
yourself for keeping out of the spiritual atmosphere of God, for staying
away from the communion and the spiritual convocation of God's people?
Is it a burden and a duty to attend the house of God, or is it a
pleasure gladly and joyfully anticipated? When you rise on the Lord's
Day morning, do you say, "Must I go to church to-day?" or do you say:

"You may sing of the beauty of mountain and dale,
The water of streamlet and the flowers of the Vale,
But the place most delightful this earth can afford,
Is the place of devotion, the house of the Lord"?