The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-06-13
THE CHARACTER OF GOD.
BY A. e. WADE.

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invisible things from the creation are
clearly seen from the things that are
made. Even God is clearly revealed to
us in the works of nature as being
whose very essence or nature is love.
This is the one prominent truth which
stands out in all the researches and
Investigations of all the great natural
lists that have lived. Prof. Drummond
in his "Ascent of Man" writes that
from the foundation of the world, the
struggle for the lives of others has
been going on beside the struggle for
life; that the one movement is as
much the law of nature as the other;
that they are equally primordial,
equally productive; and that the
attempt to construe evolution in terms
of the one, ignoring the other, must
result in grievous and fatal error.
Of all this vast secular progress the
key word has been assumed to be
strife; but another word which was
spoken at the beginning and which
has been sounding ever since in ears
that were not too dull to hear, and
that word is love-"
"The truth is there are two strug
giles for life in every living thing
the struggle for life, and the strug,
gle for the life of others"
Take the tiniest protoplasmic cell;
immerse it in suitable medium, and
presently it will perform two great
acts,-nutrition and reproduction.
At one moment in pursuance of the
struggle for life it will call in matter
from without and assimilate it to it.
self; at another moment in the strug-
gle for the life of others, it will set a
portion o. that matter apart, add to it,
and finally give it away to form
another life. Every plant in the
world lives for others. 1t sets
aside something costly, the highest
expression of its nature. The seed is
the tithe of love which nature renders
to man. When man lives upon seeds
he lives upon love. Literally scien-
tifically, "love is life" And we
might add that the sole mission of
the plants life is to develop and per-
feet the seed. We are very forcibly re-
minded of this fact in the case of all
these obnoxious weeds that grow in
our gardens and fields, and in the
case of those plants that we depend
on for our bread and meat; the corn,
wheat, potato and others. When the
seed is in embryo, the plant struggles
for life and will develop and grow
even under the most adverse circum-
stances, but just as soon as the ear of
corn, head of wheat or potato is ripe
or mature, just so soon the plant
dies. Man, too, is subject of this
same law. "No man liveth unto him
SELF" wrote the inspired apostle, and
no man truly lives or can be happy
who does not seek to bless and help
others as we'll as himself. The reason
that he who is striving for wealth or
renown for his own personal good or
ggrandizement is never satisfied is
because there is a want in his nature
that is never met, and never will be
until he opens his purse or seeks to
bless others. That man alone is
truly blessed and happy who seeks to
gain that he may bestow on others.
And finally the great lesson taught
us is that God himself only lives and
labors to save and bless all his crea-
lures and that his happiness and the
perfection of his purpose will not
be attained until every creature
will be saved from sin, misery and
death. This truth is most plainly set
forth in the parable of the ninety
and nine and Sankey's beautiful
words on the same.
URBANA, ILL.