The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-12-25
aadegson gutelligeuser.
Heaven.

We know but very little about heaven.
1t is easy to dogmatize and speculate
about our future home. We are very much
concerned to know what kind Of place
it will be, and just what we shall do
when we get there. 1t is much more
important that we should spend our time
in preparing to enter heaven than in
trying to picture it 10 ourselves or to
others. The Scriptures have but little to
say about heaven. They wisely leave
us in ignorance Of many things which
we would like to know, but which would
add nothing to our happiness or useful.
ness. It is impossible for us, in our
present mode of existence, to understand
what will be the nature of our future
life. The Scriptures invariably repre-
sent heaven under fgurative language.
Our danger is that we may literalize
what was never intended to be 80 inter.
preted. No ono would ever imagine
that the heaven of John the revelstor is
literal heaven. We shall not find
golden.paved streets, nor jasper ~alls,
nor gates Of pearl in heaven. We are
accustomed to associate these things
with great splendor and great happiness.
The writer sought to awaken in our
minds some feeble apprehension of the
glory and the splendor of our final home.
He could find no filter illustration of the
purity, beauty and glory of heaven than
in these costly and precious jewels.
Suppose for moment that he should
have attempted to portray the real beauty
and bliss Of our future home, where
would he have found language suited to
our comprehension He could not have
used the language of angels, for we
would not understand it. What we de.
mand of revelation is facts couched in
speech which we can comprehend. We
might have literal descriptions of heaven,
and be wholly unable to appreciate them.
1t is not Gods inability to picture heav.
en-, but our inability to appreciate the
picture, that makes revelation difficult
1t is easy for us 10 find fault with our
Bible because it does not give us full
and complete accounts Of many things
that are left vague and indefinite. 1t
would be much more sensible If we
should find fault with ourselves because
we are 30 stupid aud ignorant. If we
want to find out what heaven viii be, we
must turn our thoughts to what we shall
be. II is easy enough for us to coDjec.
ture that we shall pass suddenly out of a
life half consecrated, half purified, half
eanctified, into life of perfect bliss and
felicity.
Very few Christians read their Bible
with their sins before them. They put
them all behind them, and imagine that
all the promises of God are uncondition.
al. II there iu any truth taught in the
pend upon the degree of our fidelity and
nopaoovafion In fhta t;fa nthn,r,;,o
every soul that enters heaven would be
perfectly blessed. Msny people will no
doubt be astonished in heaven to find
that their poor, hals-hearted, broken and
battered lives in this world have dis.
qualified them for the degree of happi-
meas they anticipated. It ia only tho
untutored, unrefecting, immature mind
that expects the future life to be without
its development and growth. We sus.
pccs.that tho laws of growth and expan.
sion ere the came in all worlds. We
shall no doubt 6nd that each day or
period of our existence will afford Cd.
portunities that may be neglected or i'm.
proved, just as here. Redemption from
sin is not freedom from law and respon.
sibility.
We hold very firmly :l;as Our heaven
VII! BE just what we are prepared to
enjoy. Our preparation is just what we
ourselves make. We can not live poor,
broken, feeble and aimless lives here,
and enter heaven in oil the fullness of
blias and Joy. We shall no doubt take
up the song In heaven that we had
learned to sing on earth. If we have
been dwelling In the fog.land, dropping
and moping about on earth, we need not
expect Mt once to stand ON the golden
nights of heaven.
Let us live right each day. Let us
make the last day on earth o ft intro
duction to our first in heaven. Life 10
grand only as we make It go. We
delude ourselves by supposing that we
can li1e weak and heartlesa lvea here,
and ents :. heaven ready for its supremest
joys. We should learn TO make each
day o real JOY, o real preparation sor our
next day, and TO find in 1t o foretaste of
heaven Cumberland PTeabyterian.