The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-02-12
SERMON ON IMMORTALITY
DELIVERED BY REV. H. K. HANNAH Or
CAMBRIDGE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL.

DELIVERED BY RhV II. IA
CAMBRIDGE THEOLOGICAL SCHooL'
One or Four Sermons Awarded Prizes
i'm a Competition Among Ministers
I;fa and Love and Their Rela
tions Toward Each Other.
Columbia Register.
We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love tbt
brethren.-I. John ill.,, IA.
The Apostle John here presents al
argument for immortality and gives {
practical test for our use in determin
ING whether we shall live after death
Had he spoken at more length, ht
might have said this "This love W.
have for the brethren is but the eX
preston of new life within the soul
beside which the old life seems moth
ing short of death. We know we nave
passed from death to life. Now !ite
hereafter is just an extension OF !lft
here. TO live hereafter is but to live
here such a life as demands life here
after as it's complete expression. I'M:
new life of love is just such Lie
as needs and demands by its very ma
ture this extension into the hereafter
Love has in it the quality OF immor
tality. To love is to be Immortal
Then follows the practical test. You
can know here and now whether
YOU will live hereafter by the extent
and quality of your love. How many
people do you love, and how much
do you 1sSgthem?"
TO get the argument clearly in our
minds the thought of the Apostle
John needs still more elaooratlon; u;
The two great words, Life" ana
Love" need study in order tnat we
may see just why and how love can pe
the foundation for immortality.
l. What is life?
Tn the natural world, life is growth
into new relationships through adap-
tation to environment. A seed is alive
onIv when it begins to grow into re-
Iationship with the soil in which 1t Il
planted by pushing out its roots, and
into relationship with the sun-the
dew-the air-by putting forth Its
leaves. This growing relationship
shows that the seed and the plant
have life, for a dead seed or plant
would lie unrelated.
The wider the range Of relationships
through adaptability in any living
organism, the richer and fuller its life
Above the vegetable is animal life
with it's ascending series of orders IL
in which life grows richer and fuller by
means of more perfect adaptability te
environment. In this animal life we
get some clear intimations of immortal
ity. The jelly fish tossed about by
every wind and wave and finally
washed up on some sandy beach to dry
into nothingness, has life, put no"
meagre when compared to the crao
which can buffet the wind and wave,
and if washed upon the sand can craW
back into its native element. The
crab has greater adaptability to its
environment than the jelly fish, and
SO richer and longer life. Now, if the
crab had perfect adaptability so that II
could adjust itself perfectly tc
every change in its environment, II
would attain to physical immortality
The average human life is the long,
est of any in the animal world be-
cause man by his intelligence is most
successful in adjusting himself to out
ward changes. Like all life, man is
not able to meet all the changes in the
outer world, and so experiences, soon,
er or later, bodily weakness and DEATH
If he could meet all these changes
perfectly, he also would experience
physical Immortality.
Out of this idea of possible I'M
mortality for the body and closer
study of a common experience in hu-
man life, grows the argument for the
Of ho e0trI I,if
adaptability to environment through
Observation-Disclosures life perfect
adartability. The physical body
through imperfect adjustment comes
to an end here on this world. There
is something, however, in man which
seems to have more perfect adapability
than the body, something which is
strong when the body is weak-whicf
grows steadily deeper from the
beginning to the very close of life
With all the limitations of the child il
early knows the meaning of love. The
child grows into the maiden, each
year knowing more of love until she
stands in the first blush of awakened
passion. 1t is the richest moment Of
all that she has known in life, anC
seems to her the richest of all possible
experiences. But as the mother o
children, she knows yet deeper
meaning to love. She gathers into bel
thought her husband and all hel
children-each one calling out from
her some unique manifestation of bel
love-and amid all this varied play
of emotion she knows that no moment
in all her life has equaled in depth o1
love this last. She comes to the end o
life. The physical body is about tc
weaken under the load of years. YOU
ask her what love means to her now
Gathering into her memory those who
have gone, and those who remain o.
all that innumerable company who
have passed into her love, she will
know that with all her weakness o
body she stands at the very climax
of loves reality. From the first she
knew something of love, but all tho
time it grew into new meaning, unit
at the end she sees that in her life
all that had been of real value was
just the opportunities for the growtE
of love. She sees that all she has really
saved for the hour of final parting wa!
the capacity for love which life hac
given her. At the end life meant only
one thing to her-Love.
If there is the growth of love eve
mounting higher and higher as th,
body sinks it must be accounted fo
in some way which is forced to leave
ont of tho aooonnt tho nhvsiraI hody