Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-09-11
The Practical Value Of Immortality.

And they shall never perish, neither shall
.,2S.
The effect produced on a mans cur
rent life by a firm belief in the future
is something to be wondered at and adj
mired.
If man had the Kohinoor in his
pocket, and was not afraid of being
robbed, it would add "a cubit to his
stature" and fill his heart brimful OF
good nature.
And, on the other hand, when ma n
has no faith in the future, not positive
ly denying it, but looking to the sky
with very faint hope, he may be sue
cessful in business and envied of his
neighbors; he may be right hone st
creature, living in the sunshine wher-
ever he can find it;but in his heart there
dwells tenant, grim and unwelcome.
who holds life lease of his residence.
He may make the best of himself which
circumstance allows, but down in the
depths of that mans nature, covered
up by a careless laugh or otherwise con
cealed, is an Intermittent desperation
which overshadows his whole outlook.
However rich he may be, he is poor
indeed" There is kind of satisfac-
ton which he can never enjoy, a do
main of peace and happiness whose
green grass his feet never press, whose
flowers he never looks upon, whose
crops are never gathered into his barns.
The religion which circles about faith
in the future life as the planets circle
about the sun is the most practical
thing in the world. 1t is heat giving
idea as necessary for the fructifying
processes as sunshine is to a wheat
field. AS we'll hope for orange blossoms
in a damp cave where ice water oozes
through the rock and eternal night
prevails as to make a soul happy and
contented or in it's highest sense pro
ductive without the radiance which
comes from belief in immortality.
Give a man one glimpse of the Celes
tial City, let him hear the voices of an
gels, and know that they are angels,
and you work miracle in that mans
whole being. AS the clouds at sunset
are fairly drenched in beautiful colors
.-colors so enhancing that the human
race ceases from its labor to gaze upon
the spectacle-so the clouds of sorrow
which overhang our spiritual landscape
are rainbow hued to him who can s. e
the face of the Father and feel the
touch of His hand. After such an eX
perience, literally a new birth, the III
evitable to morrow ceases to be dread
ed, and we gladly contemplate tie
slowly loosening bonds of mortality
because death is freedom. the Lord :
messenger to summon us to a higher, u
broader, nobler stage of existence.
1t is the greatest Of all pities that
this kind of faith so narrowly prevails
We pretend to be Christians, but the
grandest doctrine of our Christianity is
either rejected or imperative. We
hope, but we also fear. There are mo-
ments when we feel sure, and at such
times we are inexpressibly happy; there
are other moments when we doubt, and
we are unspeakably miserable.
How can a man fail to see that be
lief in Immortality is a prime spiritual
necessity? A denial of it thwarts ev
cry heroic endeavor and corrupts the
motives which urge US toward higher
life. If we are to die like the beasts of
the field, then why should we not live
like them If VIC are SO made that we
can't help longing for continued exis
tence, but are not to enjoy it, we are
like some poor traveller who sees the
green fields beyond the chasm and, ap.
preaching them with hurrying steps
and fond anticipations, suddenly falls
over the precipice and is broken by the
jagged rocks. Unless there is another
life this life is not a boon, but curse.
and man is SO curiously and cruelty
constructed that the one only thing
which will make him little lower than
the angels is the one only thing which
he cannot have.
But it is useless to linger ON this hot
and waterless plain lest we die of thirst. |
We believe-some of us even go so far
as to say we know OF our personal
knowledge-that death is simply evic |
ton from the body and removal from
poverty to riches. That belief ought |
not to be vague, however; it should be
vivid, thrilling, prominent and perma |
nent, wavering no more than the rocky
headlands on the coast amid the angry
storms. Think of the matter when you
sit by the side of your own soul with
no one else near by. That kind of
thinking will make your doubts stink
away like a thief in the night. You
have a right to immortality, and God
offers 1t for your acceptance, but you
areblinded, andyour hand gropes in
the air and fails to reach it. You have
another life, and it is serious misfor-
tune If You do not realize that fact, for
it is the only corner stone on which YOU
can build.
If SORROWS come and burdens are to
be borne, there is rest in the future and
a peace that passeth understanding.
Look up, for skies are still blue and
stars still shine. The sod covers moth
ing but bodies, for souls are too noble
for the companionship of the earthly.
The loved one whose cold hand gives
you no responsive pressure, whose ewes
look no longer into yours, is not in the
churchyard, but in heaven; not beneath
the flowers which you have wet with
your tears, but in that home not made
with hands, whence she comes to you.
ever and anon, an invisible but benef-
icent presence. And after a little,
your days work done, you will enter
the cloudy region and emerge on the
further shore, where she and many an
other will give you a warm and heav-
emily welcome.-W. Y Herald.
STRUCK Down WITH A SToNE.-l
Policeman James Lakewood while
patroling On lower Jefferson street ,
near the town hay scales about 2 o.
clock Thursday night was struck on
the head with stone by some I'M
known party and rendered Unconscious ,
for about half an hour. He remembers
o lp5ua n II IoJ 10 4o- =, J. |