The Law of Cause and Effect in Christianity
By M. E. ELLIS
The Christian religion is nothing if it is not practical. There is nothing more logical and more closely following out the law of cause and effect than rightdoing. It is by an exercise of faith that we believe in Christ, that he lives and is cognizant of our lives and actions; but all our senses unite to give us proof of the real practicability of his teaching, when once we have accepted him and his precepts, and have endeavored, by his grace, to live them out. There is still enough of the divine image left in every man who has not completely sinned away his day of grace, so that more satisfaction and peace of mind are afforded him when doing right than when committing wrong. He recognizes this in his sober moments, if at no other time; and the more he does that which is right and in accordance with the commandments of God, the less will he feel of melancholy, remorse, or bitterness of spirit. But this in itself is nothing miraculous; it is simply the working of the law of cause and effect. The earth was made to fit harmoniously into its place in God's creation; the people on it were to fill their places harmoniously also; and though both planet and people have miserably failed of fulfilling the object of their creation, it is still true that the nearer they come to it, the more will they feel the natural effect of this course of action—peace in the heart, but not necessarily cessation of trouble. That is why Christ says, 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation.' A failure to make a proper distinction between being spiritually in Christ and physically in the world, is the rock on which many new converts and more old ones are broken, and it is necessary to remember that at the same time we may have 'peace that passeth understanding'—from the consciousness of duties faithfully performed—and no end of tribulation in our daily life, from both the covert and the open attacks of the enemy of souls, a state of being which shows in both its phases only a still further working out of the law of cause and effect; for the nearer we live to the Creator, whose plan is universal harmony, the more peace shall we feel in our hearts; but at the same time the more tribulation we shall have, as the logical result of living in opposition to the ruler of this world, the foundation of whose kingdom is laid in discord, unrest, and sin. So, then, there are set before us always two ways, two masters, two great causes, and two final effects. We must choose one course, but can never be wholly free from the influence of the other, because both are still contending for the supremacy of the world. The ways are the way of righteousness, calling for the denial of the inherent tendencies of man, bounded by trouble, but whose end is peace; and the broad road, pleasant and easy at first, but which leads swiftly and surely to ruin, and ends in death. The two masters are Christ, the Lamb of God, who gave his life for the millions that had no claim on him, and whose every thought is one of love and sympathy and tenderness for all; and Satan, the prince of this world, who delights in sin and the temptation and fall of the good, the instigator of every wrong action that has ever been committed in the universe of God, the hater of all good and the destroyer of the souls of men. The two great causes for these conditions are the spirit of hate and rebellion that caused Satan to use every means in his power to destroy the great plan of God, and love, 'for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.' The two final effects are life eternal in the kingdom of God, with nothing but happiness and praise for the Redeemer; and a terrible second death in the lake of fire, with no future, no life, and no God. Take a logical view of the situation. Is there not even in this life sufficient reason for choosing the way that leads to God? Then let us take it, and expect and enjoy the natural results of a life lived in harmony with God's laws, and receive in addition a little later the matchless gift of eternal life.