that he probes the secret places of the heart, to find out if there is holiness there as well. As the psalmist says:-
“0 Lord, thou hast searched me out, and known me:
Thou knowest my down-sitting, and mine up-rising;
Thou understandest my thoughts long before.
• • • •
Try me, 0 God, and seek the ground of my heart:
Prove me, and examine my thoughts.
Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me:
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
In the Court of Frederick the Great, all wore scarlet tunics without badges of rank, but a lieutenant who had been under fire took precedence over a Minister of War who had not. That is what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like. Anyone, outcast or beggar, who has made at least an attempt to imitate Christ's life, will take precedence over any bishop or arch-bishop who has not, and who only preached of things he knew nothing about.