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Facing
The Sunrise
There
are two directions to face in life. The one of these
directions we choose to face and do face will determine to
a large extent the happiness or lack of happiness in our
lives. If we face westward we face the sunset. This means
facing the fading light. This means the passing away of
things. It means the coming of darkness. This is a
changing world; life is ever chang ing. Many of the things
that are dear to us pass away. If we face these things as
we face the sunset, darkness and gloom will settle upon
us. We shall look upon fading hopes; we shall see the
places of missing friends; of blessings passed away.
Facing this way in life tends to bring melancholy and
sadness.
It is better to face the sunrise. Even in the darkness we
may face the east with the assurance that dawn will
presently come. There shall be new friends for the old
friends that are gone. There shall be new hopes for the
perished hopes. There shall be new opportunities instead
of the vanished ones. Let us resolutely look away from the
sunset to where the dawn shall break again and the
glorious light shine anew upon us.
Facing the sunrise must be learned. The natural tendency,
especially with very many, is to face the sunset. It is
the hopeful Christian who is the joyous Christian. He
looks ahead for better things. He is not disappointed. The
good things are never all in the past. The things that
have been lost may be replaced. What the future brings us
will in a great measure depend upon the way we meet it,
the outlook we have toward it, and the faith with which we
respond to it.
Let us change the figure somewhat. We should always face
the light. When we face away from the light we walk in our
own shadow. When we turn about and face the light the
shadows are behind us. We need not wall; in the shadows.
It is our privilege to walk toward the light, to walk in
the light, not in the darkness. Jesus said we should have
the light of life and that we should not walk in darkness.
There is a way therefore, if we shall find it, to have our
pathway illuminated and our steps made sure. There is
great value in the forward looking attitude. One writer
has said, "It is worth a thousand pounds a year to
have the habit of looking on the bright side of things.''
Note that he calls it a habit. It is just that. We can
cultivate good habits as well as cultivate bad habits. We
should deliberately assume the task of cultivating the
habit of looking on the bright side of things.
To look on the bright side of life we must have the right
sort of ideals. High ideals are a great inspiration. The
momentum imparted to the soul by great ideals will carry
it through many places of difficulty and will raise it
above many of the obstacles of life.
The power of the ideal has been thus expressed, "Our
ideals find us where we are; they carry us where we ought
to be." Ideals, even if we never reach them, put a
zest and vigor in life that it can have from no other
source. Ideals help us to make the best that can be made
of ourselves. Through ideals we aim high, we strive
earnestly. In contemplation of such ideals we lose sight
of many things in life that we are the better for having
lost sight of.
One writer has said, "The best way to correct
imperfection in ourselves and in others is constantly to
emphasize ideals instead of punishing faults." There
are 80 many people who condemn themselves and feel that
they ought to punish themselves for their faults. Just
recently I had a letter, a part of which I will quote, to
illustrate the attitude toward life and toward themselves
many people have: "I cannot understand why it is that
I cannot get complete victory. Perhaps it is
self-condemnation. I am wondering if I do not enjoy
condemning myself because I somehow think by going over
all the ugly past and saying to myself, 'What if God won't
forgive you, or maybe God won't forgive, etc.' I punish
myself a little more and perhaps God wil] take pity on
me."
Such punishment is no part of God's plan for us.. It in no
way makes us more acceptable to him. It is, however, a
great hindrance to us. The Psalmist had learned his
lesson. He said, "It is vain for you to rise up
early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows"
(Ps. 127: 2). The priests of Baal tried to gain the favor
of their God by cutting themselves and otherwise punishing
themselves. God's approval is not won in this way. He
would have us trust in his mercy, look to the sunshine of
his love, face away from the shadows toward the light. We
should emphasize our ideals and reach forward to them,
forgetting those things that are behind. Sometimes people
start in life with high ideals, but as the years go on
they lose these high ideals. Then the high hopes that went
with those high ideals fade. People become disillusioned
as to life or rather they come to look upon its sordid and
unlovely side and forget that it has a better side. Their
minds become obscured to those higher things that once
inspired them. We should beware of permitting such things
to take place. We should allow nothing to lower our ideals
or make us forget them. The pure always remains pure. The
good is always good. Realities do not change. Our point of
view may become wrong. We may come to face in the wrong
direction. But the realities remain as they were. Youth is
naturally idealistic. We should carefully preserve that
idealistic outlook of youth and keep young in spirit.
Years ago I observed people becoming old before their
time, losing their ideals, becoming pessimistic. I
resolved I should never become old. I said to myself,
"My body may get old, my hair may grow white, but my
spirit shall never grow old."
I was struck by the tone of a letter I received recently.
The writer of it was telling her troubles. In it she said,
"I am an old woman. I am fifty-four years old."
It is tragic that one should view life thus. Old at
fifty-four; think of it!
I know people who are young at eighty-five. Their hearts
are young. Their outlook is young. Their idealism has not
diminished. The way to keep young is to keep interested in
life. However, the merely young outlook on life and the
mere feeling of youthfulness does not assure a proper
youthfulness. Youth is tuneful, but there is a great
difference between the song of victorious youthfulness and
the song of vicious youth. The song of victorious youth is
the song of idealism. The song of vicious youth is the
song of corruption and approaching decay. The song of
victorious youth is the song of eternal youth, but the
song of vicious youth is the song of aging,, decay, and
death. Vicious youth faces the sunset. Victorious youth
faces the sunrise.
A bright sunrise may be succeeded by a cloudy day. It is
important that we know how to have sunshine on these
cloudy days. There is just one way to do it. That is
faith's way. Faith runs a shaft up through the clouds and
lets the sunshine come down on the heart. In the natural
world there is plenty of sunshine just above the clouds on
the cloudiest day. In life there is likewise plenty of
sunshine if through faith we rise above the clouds or if
we pierce them and let the sunshine through.
Or faith may work in another way. There may be some things
in life of such a nature that we cannot bring them into
the sunshine. There is one thing we can do. We can put up
a reflector to throw light into the dark places of life.
In a recent report of the Director of the Budget of the
United States government the story was told of a
government employee who was trying hard to save expense
for the government. He told how he had placed a mirror in
such a manner that it would reflect light from one room
into another and thus save the expense of a light in one
room. Perhaps this was not a great saving, but it showed
the right attitude. There are often places in life that we
cannot light directly. We should learn how to reflect
light from the lighted places of life and from the
glorious goodness of God into those dark places and
illuminate them, if not directly, then indirectly so that
they may be lighted. Perhaps you have not thought of using
this method. Try it. It is well worth learning.
There are many sunbeams in life that we do not see. This
is because we have our attention so focused upon things
that trouble us that we do not observe the sunbeams. God's
sunbeams are ever breaking through the clouds but often we
shall not see them unless we look for them and look for
them with the right attitude of heart. Maclaren says,
"The secret of finding sunbeams in everything is
simply letting God have his own way, and making your will
the sounding board and echo of his." Yes, that is the
real motive of joyful Christian life. It is to let God
have his way without any reluctance or hesitation on our
part. This is one of the greatest secrets of the singing
heart. God's will, when gladly submitted to, is always
joyous to us. We rejoice to have his will done. It is
shrinking from his will that causes the hurt and stills
the song.
A very needful thing in life is that we cultivate a sense
of humor. There are many interesting and stimulating
things in life if we can see them. We need a safety valve.
The faculty of mirth is given us as a safety valve.
Sometimes tears have a good purpose in life and serve us
well, but in general it is better to laugh over our
troubles than to cry over them. The results physically,
mentally, and spiritually will be better. Through a sense
of humor we can sheer off many of the hard, troublesome
things of life. What we cannot sheer off we can make
easier to bear. Many a person has kept up courage, faith,
and determination through a good laugh and has broken the
spell of defeat. I do not refer to a laugh of foolishness,
but to wholesome mirth.
Humor, mirth, and playfulness are all divinely created to
serve God's purpose in us, to balance the pain, the
heartaches, and the tears that assuredly will come also.
The smiling countenance, the sparkling eye, the joyful
laugh, go far to add spice to life. They not only come
from sunshine in the heart but they produce more sunshine
therein and sunshine all about one. If we are inclined to
be melancholy and troubled, moody, and heavy hearted, we
need to set up a balance by filling the other side of the
scales with the joyous things that may be ours if we shall
make life surrender to us its treasures that lift and
cheer. It has such treasures for us all, but sometimes we
have to demand them before we receive them.
When I need things in my work I fill out a requisition for
them and send it to the proper place. Things are in stock
but they do not come to me until I ask for them. No doubt
many of our blessings grow shelf worn waiting for us to
seek them. James said, "Ye have not, because ye ask
not" (chap. 4: 2). Jesus said, "Ask and it shall
be given you; seek and ye shall find." We should ask
and seek of God, of life, of circumstances till we are
enriched with joy and peace and true happiness.
It is our right to be happy. We owe it to ourselves and
life owes it to us that we be happy. Life will pay us all
it owes us if we give it a fair chance. But to receive
what is ours we must face the sunrise where these things
are, not the sunset where they are not found.
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