say, "I was hungry, and ye fed me; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink;"
and so on. Then he explains: "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the
least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." You observe that He
makes no distinction between those whom He atoned for, and those for
whom he did not. He includes all the unfortunate of the whole race, even
the criminals who were in prison. He identifies Himself with them every
one. And if He does, is it to be supposed that He died for only some of
them? How could He identify Himself with those for whom He had not
atoned, and for whom there could not be any salvation? It is said that
His Atonement is "sufficient" for all; yet on the theory of a limited
Atonement it is claimed that it is not "efficient" for all. But whether
it be "sufficient" or "efficient," our Lord makes no difference. How
could He so utterly and so tenderly ally Himself with any for whom He
had not provided the possibility of salvation--a salvation admittedly
"sufficient" for all? The inevitable presumption is, that He atoned for
them every one, and so could identify Himself with them every one.

It is therefore reasonable to conclude that salvation is provided for
each one of them; and that if they do not attain to it in this life,
they will in the next. That may appear a vast problem to us whose views
of time and space are so limited; but it may be easy to Him to whom the
whole span of time is but a passing epoch in the everlasting years.

Apart from this somewhat legal aspect of the case, there is another
aspect of it which must appeal with great force to every reflective
mind. I mean the undeveloped possibilities stored up in every human
soul. We may sink so low as to appear but as dull clods; but the glory
of man is the potentiality within him, capable, it would seem, of
everlasting development.