God on a Wooing Errand.


But it's the other John message we are especially after just now.
There's another message of John's book quite distinct from this, though
naturally allied with it. And this other is the crowding message of his
book. Its thought crowds in upon you till every other is crowded into
second place. And as it gets hold of you it crowds your mind and heart
and life till every other is either crowded out, or crowded to a lower
place; _out_, if it jars; _lower place_, if it agrees, for every
agreeing bit yields to the lead of this tremendous message.

But one must get hold of John before John's message gets hold of him.
John was swayed by a passion. It was a fiery passion flaming through all
his life. It burned through him as the fierce forest fire burns through
the underbrush. Every base thing was eaten up by its flame. Every less
worthy thing came under its heat. It melted and mellowed and moulded his
whole being.

It was _the Jesus-passion_. It was kindled that memorable afternoon
early in his life down in the Jordan bottoms.[1] John's namesake, the
Herald, applied the kindling match. From then on the flames never
flickered nor burned low. They increased steadily, and they increased in
purity, until his whole life was under their holy heat.

John didn't always understand his Master. Sometimes he misunderstood.
But he never failed in his trust of Him, nor in his fidelity to Him. Of
the chosen inner circle John was the one who remained true through the