The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-07-01

4 Nhat transition it. was! From tn
malaria of Rome to the finest climate il
all the universe-the zone of eterna
beauty and health. His ashes were pu
in the catacombs of Rome, but in ont
moment the air of heaven bathed from
his soul the last ache. From ship
wreck, from dungeon, from the biting
pain of the clmwood rods, from th'
sharp sword of the headsman, he goe'
into the most brilliant assemblage o.
Heaven, a king among kings, multi
tudes of the sainthood rushing out ant
stretching forth hands of welcome; fol-
do really think that as on the
right hand of God is Christ, so on the
right of Christ is Paul, the second great
in Heaven.
He changed kings likewise. Before
the hour of death, and up to the last
moment he was under Nero, the thich
necked. the cruel eyed, the filthy Tipped
the sculptured features of that mar
| bringing down to us to this very day
the horrible possibilities of his nature
seated as he was amidst pictured mar
bles of Egypt, under roof adorned
with mother of pearl, in dining room
which by machinery was kept whirling
day and night with most bewitching
magnifcence; his horses standing in
stalls of solid gold, and the grounds
around his palace lighted at night by
| its victims, who had been bedaubed
with tar and pitch and then set on FIRE
to illumine the darkness. That was
Paurs king. Bat the next morning he
goes into the realm of Him whose reign
is love, and whose courts are paved with
love, and whose throne is set on pillars
of love, and whose scepter is adorned
with jewels of love, and whose palace
is lighted with love, and whose lifetime
is an eternity of love. When Paul was
leaving so much on this side the pillar
of martyrdom to gain so much on the
other side, do you wonder at the cheer
full valedictory of the text: ''The time
of my departure is at hand?"
Now, why cannot all the old people
have the same holy glee as that aged
man had? Charles l, when he was
combing his head, found a gray hair,
and he sent it to the queen as great
joke; but old age is really no joke at all.
For the last forty years you have been
dreading that which ought to have been
an eXhilaration. You say you most fear
the struggle at the moment the soul
and body part. But millions have en-
dured that moment, and may not we as
well? They got through with it and so
can we. Besides this all medical men
agree in saying that there is probably
no struggle at the last-not so much
pain as the prick of pin, the seeming
signs of distress being altogether invol-
untary. But you say: 1T is the uncer-
tainty of the future" Now, child of God,
do not play the infideL After God has
filled the Bible till it can hold no more
with stories of the good things ahead,
better not talk of uncertainties. But
you say: Il cannot bear to think of
parting from friends here" If you are
old, you have more friends in heaven
than here. Just take the census. Take
some large sheet of paper and begin to
record the names of those who have
emigrated to the other shore; the COM
panions OF your school days, your early
life, and those VINO more recently went
away. Can it be that they have gone
so long you do not care any more about
them, and you do not want their socie-
"? Oh no There have been days
when you have felt that you could not
endure another moment away from
their blessed companionship. They
have gone. You say you would not
like to bring them back to this world
Of trouble, even if you had the power.
1t would not do to trust yOu. God would
not give you resurrection power. Be-
fore tomorrow morning you would
be rattlinC at the gates of the ceme-
terry crying to the departed: Come
back to the cradle where you slept!
Come back to the hall where You used
to play! Come back to the table where
you used to sit.' And there would be
great burglary in Heaven. No, no.
God will not trust you with resurrec-
tion power; but He compromises the
matter and says: You cannot bring
them where you are, but you can go
where they are" They are more lovely
now than ever. We're they beautiful
here they are more beautiful there.
Besides that, it is more healthy there
for you than here, aged man; better
climate there than these hot summers
and cold winters and late springs;
better hearing: better eyesight: more
tonic in the air; more perfume in the
bloom; more sweetness in the song
Do you not feel, aged man, sometimes
as though you would like to get your
arm and foot free? Do you not feel as
though you would like to throw away
spectacles and canes and crutches?
Would you not like to feel the spring
and elasticity and mirth of an eternal
boyhood? When the point at which
you start from this world is old age,
and the point to which you go is eternal
juvenescence, aged man, clap your
hands at the anticipation, and say, in |
perfect rapture of soul: The time of |
my departure is at hand"
remark, again, all these ought to |
feel this JOY of the text who have |
holy curiosity to know what is beyond |
this earthly terminus. And who has |
not any curiosity about it? Paul, l |
suppose, had the most satisfactory view |
of Heaven and he says: SIT does not ap-
pear what we shall be-" 1t is like look |
ing through broken telescope. Now
we see through a glass darkly.' Can |
you tell me anything about that heav-
enly place? You ask me q thousand |
questions about it that l can not an
swer ask you thousand questions
about it that you can not answer And |
10 you wonder that Paul was so glad |
when martyrdom gave him a chance to
go over and make discoveries in that
blessed country?
l,,r,a co-,,.a dow nv Tho r,,.,oo -,c = II