Circles of Beauty, Influence, and Forgiveness
By Eliza H. Morton
The curved line in nature has been called the “line of beauty.” It may be seen in the outline of the forest foliage, in the shape of the fleecy clouds, and in the crest of the ocean wave. The circle is the curved line perfected. It also appears everywhere in the natural world. The circle is manifest in spiritual things. God “sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers.” Isa. 40:22. “None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.” Our influence for good or for evil goes on and on, in ever widening circles. What we say and do comes back to us. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38. The divine circle of recompense applies to the evil as well as to the good. This is illustrated many times in the history of God’s people. For example, Jacob deceived his father, and he also was deceived by Laban.453The brethren of Joseph recognized the divine circle, as shown by their words, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” Gen. 42:21. God only can break the circle of retribution. The circle of forgiveness also is divine. “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” In this we show whether we have made the love of God a part of our lives, or whether our hearts are hardened by resisting His Spirit. As the mist rises from the earth, and returns in refreshing showers, only to rise and to descend again, thus making never ending circles, so God’s Spirit comes to His children in blessings for them to distribute to others, completing circles of love. Some one has said, “Did the countless earths abroad, like snails,
Leave behind them shining trails,
What a web of strange design
Through the eternal space would shine!”
It is true that our lives are making circles on earth’s great page which God’s eye only can trace. By and by, these life circles will be seen by glorified humanity. By and by, the rainbow about God’s throne will shine upon a redeemed world, and the great circle of God’s everlasting love will unite His family on earth with His family in heaven.