their hearts, the inner citadel of their lives, that settled their place
in this oldest family of all.



How We Don't Get In, and How We Do.


It is of intensest interest in our day to have John go on to tell, in
his own simple taking way, just how we get into this God-family. First
of all, he tells us how we _don't_ get in. Listen: "_not of blood_,"
that is, not by our natural generation; "_nor of the will of the
flesh_," that is, not by anything we can do of ourselves, though this
has a place, a distinctly secondary place; "_nor of the will of man_,"
that is, not by what somebody else can do for us, though this too has
its place.

These are the three "_nots_"; the three ways we are _not_ saved. And it
becomes of intensest interest to notice that these are the very three
ways that the crowd is emphasizing to-day, some this, others that, as
the way of being saved. The three modern words we commonly use for these
three "nots" of John are, _family, culture_, and _influence_.

Some of us seem to be fully expecting to walk into the presence of God,
and to get all there is to be gotten there, because of the family we
belong to. This is probably stronger in some of us than we are conscious
of. It's a matter of blood with us, our blood, our natural generation.
We take greatest pride in showing what blood it is that runs in our
veins. We trace the line far back to those whose names are well known.
And this sort of thing has overpowering influence in our human affairs