Jesus is the Light of the world; and as He commanded His disciples to let their light shine before men in such a manner that men may see their good works, and glorify the Father in heaven, who is the real but unseen fountain of their life, so Jesus Himself is to all mankind the manifestation of light; and even they who do not know who this Son of man is, acknowledge and feel the singular, the unique perfection and beauty of Jesus. In illustration of this remark, I would remind the reader of the oft-quoted observation of Rousseau, “that if Jesus had not really lived, the conception of such a character, as drawn in the narrative of the gospel, would itself be a miracle, a psychological problem, difficult to solve.” The inventor, he says, would be greater than the hero himself. Jesus stands in history, but He is the miracle of history. Compare also the view of a great poet: “There appeared once upon earth an Individual, who by moral omnipotence only conquered far off ages, and founded an eternity of His own; who shone and attracted like a sun; who moved nations and centuries round the eternal and universal Center. It is the quiet Spirit whom we call Jesus Christ. If He was, there is Providence, or He Himself is that Providence. Only gentle teaching and dying were the notes whereby this higher Orpheus tamed human beasts and turned rocks into cities. He, the purest among the mighty, the mightiest among the pure, lifted with His pierced hand empires out of their grooves, the stream of centuries out of its bed, and is still the Lord of the ages.” 

Our Life-Day - Adolph Saphir