| The Best Things in Life |
Chapter 7 |
Page 7 |
The picture of the life of Charles Kingsley which his wife has given in her “Letters and Memories” of her husband, is on of the finest groupings of the qualities of an ideal life in all literature:
Dedicated to the beloved memory of a righteous man
Who loved God and truth above all things.
A man of untarnished honour–
Loyal and chivalrous–gentle and strong–
Modest and humble–tender and true–
Pitiful to the weak–yearning after the erring–
Stern to all forms of wrong and oppression,
Yet most stern towards himself–
Who, being angry, yet sinned not–
Whose highest virtues were known only
To his wife, his children, his servants, and the poor;
Who lived in the presence of God here,
And passing through the grave and gate of death,
Now liveth unto God for evermore.
Shall we not seek and pray that this beginning of his signs the Master may work in us? Then we shall have the same glory in us that was also in him. We need not ask for power to work miracles, but let us beseech God for glory in our hearts and lives – the glory of love, of gentleness, of truth, of patience, of thoughtfulness, of kindness, of forbearance, of humility, of helpfulness. Then the glory of our life will be manifested, not in an occasional flash of surpassing heroism, self denial, generosity, effort, or sacrifice, but in a daily life of unbroken goodness, faithfulness and holiness.
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