St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1894-06-23
ST. PER YEAR.
WHATWAsM MAN mADE FoR !.

: We have already seen clearly that man
, must have been made by pre-existing
being; as the materials of which he IS
composed could not possibly have ar
! ranged themselves into what we see
, and know man to be, and nobody who
knows anything about the wonderful
construction of the various parts which
go to make up man, and the correspond
ing functions those parts perform, can
doubt, after due reflection, that the Be-
ing who made man must have been in
hnlfely wise, as well as all powerful
Then we are irresistibly forced to the
conclusion that the maker of man must
nave made him for a definite purpose. as
he exhibits such perfect adaptations,
and endless capabilities. To suppose
that man, as we know him to be, and
the world as we see it around us, were
all made without any well-defined OBJ
Jects in view, could hardly be done by
rational mind in serious earnestness-
that would be doing far too much for
nothing.
man and the world for him to live in
while and develop for another and
higher one would have left the objects
tie had in view all to be guessed at, would
be hard for q candid mind to do. AS He
endowed man with mind of such vast
capabilities, He must have intended him
/ TO perform q part in working out the
purposes he had IN view; and therefore
He must inJosm him OF has duty in the
premises? The most reasonable con-
clusion is that God has done SO. With
out instruction man would unayoidably
make many mistakes and create great
/ confusion, which would inevitably ul-
innate in disastrous suffering and speedy
ruin. And we have learned from the
oldest Book in the world that aSsod made
man In His own image and after His
own likeness" which is not said of any.
other being living on earth. Then He
must have made man for graadef and
nobief and longer ttAed purpose than
any of the other liyinss we find on the
earth. For while all the others reach
| the utmost limit of the capabilities
early in brief existence here, the ahtqt
mans capabilities are deeetoped, the
| more capable he becomes of further. de-
eetopneat, dd imfnitHma. This is a fact
that all candid minds will admit, and it
| is also we'll known fact that when the
physical part of man wears out, the i'm
tellectual is just getting under good
headway-that mortal degeJopnacnt here
in this life Is onty limited by the decay
or death Of the corporeat machinery.
Gould the body hold out in definitely,
the mind would never cease to develop
LII man. But such is not the case with
any of the inferior animals. The OK or
the horse can soon learn all 1T is capable
OF Knowing long before its bodily
ence? Evidently the inferior animal
was made for this life only, and soon
learns all 1t needs to know and can
learn. Instinct prompts the duckIing
to swim In water as soon as it leaves
the shell, while instinct also prompts
the newly-hatched chicken to scratch
on dry land for its living; and before
either or these younglinss have attained
unto the size of its mother. it has
learned as much as she knows, and all
4 can ever learn. And SO it is with all
the living beings on earth, except man.
And he alone was mode in the image
aud likeness of God, evidently to live
with him longer than he exists here at
least. The Book tells us that the Lord
made Paradise in Eden for man to live
In, and he used to walk in the beautiful
and delightful Garden to visit Adam
and Eve in the "cool of the day. of both
morning and evening, I suppose. But
alas! Man offended God and forfeited
his place in that Paradise. Yet the Lord
mercifully made provision for his re-
storation to his favor again, and admon-
lshes everybody to repent, that He may
pardon and reinstate them in better
Paradise. And he even kiadly aauites
all to prepare achile here to go up, when
they leave this world and Iiue aoith hins
and all the good forever IN The Paradise
Of God ia HeGuea.
When man reaches the limit of his
AAAS AGA " AxC iF5 VIZ Jdky AflG OUEnG TO De
only the more and better prepared to go
on developing intellectually and spirit
ual!y to enjoy blissfnl companionship
with God forever. If he was not made
to live ON elsewhere, why We're not his
capabilities limited, like all the other
animals that surround him? And why
was deathless vision to live on forever
universally and inextinguishably inn
planted in the mind OF every good man
at leastY While man would shudder ut,
and reeoil in horror from the idea of an
Inhalation, the inferior animal has no
thought of existence hereafter or OF
higher happiness here. Then ii must
be most reasonable to conclude that
man must be made to live happy here
awhile, and prepare to live happy else
where forever.
How man may be happy here and
happier hereafter, will be considered i'm
the next paper by
A FRIEND OF Con AND MAN.