The unrecognized Christ Author:John Gardner Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III THE TRANSFIGURED CHRIST But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were awake, they saw his glory. —Luke 9:32. TH... more »IS earth is a tragic spot in the universe of God. So small a speck among the stellar hosts and yet the scene of so much discord! In the midst of His eternal workings it has become supreme in significance, for on it is to be realized the eternal purpose. Here One appeared bearing the image of the Most High; here God Himself became incarnate. Yet here has been enacted an awful tragedy, even the loss by man of his birthright, the spoiling by man of that to which all the divine actions had tended, the commission by man of that which brought sorrow to the heart of God. All creatures on earth seem to be happy in the pursuit of their instincts. They have the desires of the animal, and if their desires are fulfilled they are happy and content. But man is so constituted that he cannot be satisfied by the gratification of desire. Amid all his enjoyments he finds that unhappiness and misery are his lot. His youth is gilded with fair dreams, but the vision passes e'er manhood dawns. The quest of knowledge, fame and power adds zest to every day, yet their acquisition brings disappointment. The dawn of love seems the harbinger of endless bliss yet pain and sacrifice lie at its very heart. The sweetest songs he sings tell of human woe. Something is missing from his experience, something which he believes to be his right, something which in the beginning his forebears were permitted to enjoy. Each man in his procession through the years is a repetition of the tragic experience,—a struggle to look upon and hold communion with the Spirit that is in the world, and failure because of defect in himself. Sometimes the tragedy is deepe...« less