Paul said, "God ... giveth us richly all things to enjoy." Underneath all mortal striving, however mistaken, is the urge of man's divine birthright, causing the human consciousness to be dissatisfied with its limitations. A recognition of this fact makes us charitable with those who, mistaking material wealth and power for the kingdom of heaven, try to take the kingdom by material means. The pen of Paul moved with certainty over this ground of reasoning in his epistle to the Romans, because he had been forced to solve the problem of disinheritance. A native of no mean city, a son of well-to-do parents, in the midst of a distinguished career he found himself destitute of these material heritages as the spiritual light broke upon him on the Damascus road. However, when he wrote to the Romans he had no sense of loss; for he had gained the truth that heirship does not rest upon fleshly descent from material ancestors, but upon the "righteousness of the faith;" in other words, upon spiritual understanding.
Though he would have stoutly repudiated it, nevertheless as Saul listened to Stephen's wonderful oration, he was even then being made an heir with both Abraham and Stephen. Doubtless, as he was led blind into Damascus and during those three days of prayer prior to the healing visit of Ananias, he heard again Stephen's voice as it rang in the council chamber at Jerusalem, repeating the command of the "God of glory," "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee."
What is it that makes up our country and our kindred? Is it just land and water, flesh and blood? Is it not rather thoughts, opinions, temperament, modes of living, forms of government, religious and racial beliefs?
