Christianity redeems us; not from sin only, but from all narrowness, meanness, and littleness of conception; it puts great thought into our hearts and bold words into our mouths, and leads us out from our village prisons to behold all nations of mankind. On this ground alone, Christianity is the best educator in the world. It will not allow the soul to be mean.
It forces the heart to be noble and hopeful. It says, “Go and teach all nations;” “Go ye into all the world;” “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others;” “Give and it shall be given unto you.” It is something to have a voice so Divine ever stirring the will and mingling counsels. It is like a sea-breeze blowing over a sickly land; like sunlight piercing the fogs of a long dark night.
If we have narrow sympathies, mean ideas, paltry conceptions, we are not scholars in the school of Christ We are citizens of the world; let us bring no reproach upon Christ by our exclusiveness.—PARKER.
