Then comes the time to try our faith in God.
And then, alas! it comes out, in these evil, and godless, and
hypocritical times in which we live, that many a man who fancies
himself religious, and respectable, and blameless, and what not, no
more really believes that he is living in God's kingdom than the
heathen do. And if you ask him, you will find out most probably that
he fancies that God's kingdom is not on earth now, but that it will
be on earth some day. A cunning delusion of the devil, that, my
friends! To make us go his way while we fancy that we are going our
own way. To make us say to ourselves: "Ah! it is very unfortunate
that God is not King of the earth now. Of course He will be after
the resurrection, in the new heaven and the new earth, where there
will be no sin. But He is not King now; this world is given over to
sin and the devil, so fallen and ruined and corrupt that--that--that,
in short, we cannot be expected to behave like God's children in it,
but must just follow the ways of the world, and live by ambition, and
selfishness, and cunning, and boasting, and competing in this life; a
life of love, and justice, and humbleness, and fellow-help, and
mercy, and self-sacrifice is impossible in such a world as this; we
cannot live like angels, till we get to heaven!" So say nine people
out of ten; the devil deceiving them, and their own hearts, alas!
being but too glad to catch at the excuse for sin which the devil
gives them, when he tells them that this present earth is not God's
kingdom; and so they go and act accordingly, selfish, grudging,
pushing, boastful, every man's hand against his neighbour and for
himself, till they succeed too often in making this earth as
fearfully like the devil's kingdom as it is possible for God's
kingdom to be made.
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