Having Christ "In" Us

This expression is much more than a form of words. It defines a change of mind and a development of character quite as real as the growth of the body: the permeation of something into the individual as real as the taking of food. A newborn babe has the germ of human character which needs to be nourished by food from without as the body does, only the food is of a different kind. On all planes of possible development-physical, mental, moral and spiritual-we need nourishment and use if we are to grow. Too much exercise without adequate nourishment has a stunting and deforming effect. Too much food without sufficient exercise leads to unhealthy fatness and not to strength. If there is a reasonable balance of food and exercise there may be healthy development.

All wise parents try to achieve this balance with their children-sufficient food but not excess, sufficient exercise but not too strenuous. On the physical plane the facts are so obvious that only foolish or careless parents fail to see them. Sometimes on the mental plane, the effect is not quite so clear, and grave mistakes are made. The same principle prevails, nevertheless. Robert Hall once said of a certain man that he was clever, but that he had so many books on his head that his brain could not work. Such a result will sometimes follow when children, urged on either by their own ambition or that of their parents, study too hard and read too much. They imbibe ideas, but fail to make them their own by thought and exercise. They may end by having a great knowledge of books but little capacity for using their knowledge. Less reading and more exercise of thought would have been better for them.