Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-01-19
Sunday.Sch00l Lessons.
THE MEANING OF LIFE.

A low and false view says, Life is
not worth living" Muchi in ancient and
modern literature supports this view.
''When we reflect" saws Greek sage,
':on the destiny that awaits man on
earth, we ought to bedew. his cradle
with our tears In the midst of sud-
den and overwhelming ca!amities Job
said: Let the day perish wherein l
was born;" but his contempt of life is
rebuked by the SEQUEL of his affecting
story. ''Men are fools for being born,
and show the h CHEST wisdom in self
destruction. is the pessimist Shopen-
haur's peroration to q morbid portrait
ure of the miseries of life. Byron s
misanthropy has contributed much to
this gloomy view. Kirk White says:
'What is this passing life?
A peevish April day:
A little sun. q little rain,
And then night sweeps along the plain,
And all things fade away"
Another writes:
LIES but walking shadow; poor player.
And then is heard no more; it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing @
All cynics and pessimists say to the
contrary, life is glorious gift, or there
is no founding in the goodness of God
for religion. If life is an unmitigated
curse, its Creator is not beneficent. The
universal love of life is evidence that
men think it boon. If it is not, why
are men so attached to it, and why their
efforts to preserve it? The felicitati ms
with which the new year begins are a
tributeto the value of life and to the
gladness which belongs to it. How in
congruous is the pessimist' S wish"
happy New Year, In spite of all its
evils life is blessing.
Mallock asked: us life worth living?''
One witty reply was: ct all depends
upon the liver Our appreciation de-
ponds upon the use we make of exist
ence. If we make it season of pleas
ure, it may, indeed, seem worth living
because we think it has happiness in
store, and not because its present en-
joyments are satisfying. The mere
pleasure-seeker never is but always to
be blest" AS all his schemes and hopes
for satisfaction prove iilusory, he comes
to the conclusion that life is a cheat"
So, also. with those who make life an
exclusive arena for wealth and fame.
When wealth and honors arc won, men
find themselves farther than ever dis
tant from cal peace. They have mis-
read the meaning of life and misused
its opportunities. and verify they have
their reward" as Christ said thew
would have. "a mans life CONSISTENT
not in the abundance of the things he
possesseth."
Our stay here derives its truest and
highest significance from the fact that it
is a school for eternity. Whenever it is
regarded as theater for enjoyment and
worldly accommodations, it proves mere
chaos of contradictions. Whenever as
ISOLATED with eternity, everything is i'm
mediately full of significance. Every
feeling, thought affection. wish, hope,
act. is important. because it is an ele-
ment to shape eternal destiny. This is
the only view that goes to the depths OF
life's meaning and answers the question
which every thoughtful man. sooner Or
later, asks: ''Why do live"'
We live now thatwe may live forever.
Our years here are stepping stones to
immortality. We have not one moment
too many. The longest life is but long
enough. Every neglected moment is
worse than wasted. God is sovereign.
He intelligentlyl placed us here for q
purpose That purpose is to us rs mag
.nificent as though we were the only
creatures in the universe. That plan,
too, unfolds daily. Every pulse beats
the time of our forward march to the
contamination. We are not here by ac-
cident- God administers the plan, even
though men are as dumb as brutes and
stare in His face with an eye as blank as
that of an OK.
Are we learning the lessonp Do we
! garner the rich fruit of our years.? Are
we ico-working with God in His plans
and thereby insuring our lives from
failure? He who abides in Him, is
ruled by Him, need never ask whether
or not his life is failure. Gods faith
full servants are always successful fol
the reason that they are faithful n
The Infinite Father accepts servants
/ at even the eleventh hour. Thanks be
unto Him for such infinite patience
with men who neglect, deny. defy and
sin against the Lord of the vineyard.
| If we can fully determine that thus fan
our lives have been failures. the
failure vanishes in the light of that per-
suasion. The. failure was born of oul
/ divorce from the Master. Late as it is
God win accept the bluuderer, the