Shirley C Hughson

The Warfare of the Soul Shirley C Hughson

If we desired to describe our life here in one word, that word might be Temptation. From one point of view the purpose for which we are put into this world is to be tempted, that is, to be tried or tested, in order that the wheat among us may be separated from the chaff, and that the children of light may be manifested and divided from the children of darkness. This testing, however, is not only that the good may be separated from the bad, it is the means by which the good becomes good; for by it latent virtues are developed and a character fitted for heaven is formed. Let us regard a little child just baptized-it is an innocent child of God, but what is innocence? In many respects a beautiful attribute, but a purely negative one; for it is the attribute of an untried soul. That child must pass through the wilderness of temptation, and with the result either that the innocence will be transformed into sanctity or will be lost and give place to sin.