James says, with his favourite repetition of the same word,' Let her work be perfect, that ye may be perfect.' Such endurance is indispensable to growth in Christian character.
I do not need to enter, at this stage of my sermon, on the differences between perfect' and entire.' The one describes the measure of the individual graces belonging to the man; the other describes the completeness of the assemblage of such graces. In each he is perfect,' and, having all that belongs to complete humanity, he is entire.' That is the ideal to which we have to press.
That is an ideal to which we may indefinitely approximate. There are people now--as there always have been--who are apt to substitute emotion and passivity for effort in the path of Christian perfection. I would take James's teaching. Let your perseverance have her perfect work, and by toil and by protracted effort, and by setting your teeth against all seductions, and by curbing and ruling your sorrows, you will reach the goal. God makes no man perfect without that man's diligent and continuous struggle and toil, toil, indeed, based upon faith; toil, indeed, which receives the blessing, but toil all the same.
Nor need I remind you, I suppose, how, in both the narrower and the wider sense of this word, the perseverance of my text is indispensable to Christian character.
I dare say we all of us know some chronic invalid say, on whose worn face there rests a gleam like that of the Lawgiver when He came down from the mount, caused by sorrow rightly borne. If your troubles, be they great or small, do not do you good they do you harm. There is such a thing as being made obstinate, hard, more clinging to earth than before by reason of griefs. And there is such a thing as a sorrow rightly borne being the very strength of a life, and delivering it from many a sin. The alabaster sheet which is intended to be fitted into the lamp is pared very thin that the light may shine through. And God pares away much of our lives in order that through what is left there may gleam more clearly and lambently the light of an indwelling God.
There is nothing to be won in the perfecting of Christian character without our setting ourselves to it persistently, doggedly, continuously all through our lives. Brethren, be sure of this, you will never grow like Christ by mere wishing, by mere emotion, but only by continual faith, rigid self-control, and by continual struggle. And be as sure of this, you will never miss the mark if, forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forth to those that are before,' you let patience have her perfect work,' and press towards Him who is Himself the Author and Finisher of our patience and of our faith.
