But why should the betrayal have come from one of the twelve?  It is not necessary to find a satisfactory answer to all the questions that may arise from the reading of the Bible, and the finite mind should not be discouraged if it fails to fathom the reasons of the Infinite Intelligence.  If there are mysteries in the Bible that we cannot unravel they are not greater than the mysteries in nature with which we must deal whether we understand them or not.

But I venture to suggest one effect, produced by the fact that one of the twelve proved a traitor, namely, the scrutiny that it has compelled millions of Christians to turn upon themselves.  “Lord, is it I?” each of the disciples anxiously inquired.  Even Judas himself, coerced by the action of the others, asked, “Master, is it I?” So, to-day, there is real betrayal of the Saviour by some who take His name upon them and before the world profess to be His followers.  If Judas had been an outsider and had sold for money the knowledge he had gained as a looker-on his name would not have become, as the name of Judas has, a synonym for all that is base and contemptible; and the Christian world would have been without the benefit of that glaring act of perfidy that has sounded its warning through nineteen centuries.  Judas sold the Saviour for money, just as many a professing Christian since then has, for money, betrayed the Master.  Who will calculate the restraint that that one question, “Lord, is it I?” has exerted upon Christ’s followers in the hour when some great temptation has made the believer hesitate upon the brink of sin?

I will not attempt to enumerate all the ways in which Christ has and can bless mankind, but the living spring has taught me one way.  The spring is the best illustration of the Christian life, just as a stagnant pool is the best illustration of a selfish life.  The pool receives but gives forth nothing in return and, at last, becomes the center of disease and death.  There is nothing more repulsive than the stagnant pool except a life built upon that plan.  The spring, on the other hand, pours forth constantly of that which refreshes and invigorates and asks for nothing.  There is nothing more inspiring than a living spring except the life that it resembles.

And why is the spring a spring?  Because it is connected with a source that is higher than itself.  Christ brings man into such vital, living contact with God that the goodness of God flows out to the world through him.  The frailest human being can thus become of inestimable value to society.  It is only spiritual power, received from above, that counts largely.  If we measure man in units of physical power he is not much above the beasts; if we measure him in units of intellectual power we soon reach his limitations, but when we measure him in units of spiritual power his strength may be beyond human calculations.  If, as was the case in Wales, the prayer of a little girl could start a revival that spread over that country, resulting in the conversion of thousands, what can a life accomplish if one’s heart is full of love to God and man?