Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-06-17
The Bright Side Of Life.

The Bright Side Of Life.
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before
Our environment is one of exceeding
)eauty, but it is matter of tempera-
nent and disposition whether we ap-
preciate and enjoy it or not. The eyes
Of the body may be so defective that
The sight is dim, and the eyes OF the
soul can be affected in the same way. |
If had the power. therefore, and want !
ed to make man happier in his sur
should not change the sur
but rather the man. No
BODY gets out of his life half as much
as God has put into it. Our egotism
will not allow us to blame ourselves for
this, and SO we find wretched kind OF
relief in blaming the Almighty. wei
wonder WHY He does not arrange mat
tiers differently, and at the same time
the angels are wondering why we 40
not see things differently. There is no
sunset for one whose eyes are closed,
and there is no joy for one who belieYes
himself to be badly treated. There1
never yet was an environment SO per
feet that man could not lind fault
with it if he had bitter soul, nor an
environment so full of hardship thaF a
man could not find some comfort IN 1t
if he was willing to look and knew
where to look.
The chief mission of religion, as un-
derstand it, is, first, to change a mans
attitude toward events by the NEGRO
NANCY of faith in Gods love and wis
dom. and. second, to so inform him that
he will know how to use his life to the
best advantage. That is what is meant
by the new birth, and in very truth the
general outlook becomes SO different
from anything before experienced that
no greater change could be made ii he
were to be literally born again.
tits possible to think of the. good
things and lay the others aside; to dwell
on what makes for happiness and
ignore all else. But our human nature
finds it difficult to do this because the
habit of doing just the contrary has
becoms fixed.
The catalogue of things to be CRATE
full for is very large. What pleasure,
for instance, it is to be alive, and what
a beautiful mystery life is. To think,
to feel, to aspire, to reach out with
speculative daring toward the stars, to
dream of other worlds like this, to take
still loftier flight and explore that far
away country which we call heaven
how marvellous creature is man, what
a perfect piece of machinery he is. it
regarded from the standpoint OF mate
rialism. and how much more marvel
lous when you recognize that interior
something which is independent of the
mere machine and will live a better and
broader life without it after the airy
nothing which we call death has done
its little all.
And then what a world this body and
soul creature has for residence. Can
beautiful than the physical universe !?
The changing seasons untrolled day
after day by unseen hands and pre-
senting new picture with every dawn;
the springtime, when the apparently
dead earth breaks forth into renewed
life; the glorious summer, when the i'm,
penetrable mysteries of growth unfold
themselves and blossoms change to
fruit; the ruddy autumn, when the
work of the year reaches its conSum-
nation and when laden trees and vine
yards and ripened harvests yield their
abundance; the frosty winter, when
forests and fields fall on slumber, per
haps to dream of a better springtime to
come-how awe inspiring it all is and
with what strange emotions it fills the
heart. And as we ponder, how helpless
we are, how, little, how like children
who have scarcely mastered the sim
plest rudiments of knowledge, and
what a vast, what an inexpressibly
grand territory stretches out before us,
inviting us to penetrate its mysteries
and solve its problems.
But take the next step. The chief
object in life is not to know, but to be,
and events have been SO arranged that
il we use them skilfully they will each
one of them become stepping stone
to higher things. The soul of child
hood is nothing but a bundle of un
developed possibilities. The powers
narrow space. The soul grows just as
the body does, no one knows how; but,
strangely enough, when the body has
reached it's maturity the soul is still in
its adolescence, and sooner or later
you face the curious fact that every
man is double, and that when one
part of him is in the ripe fruit the
other part is still in blossom.
Now, if what you call your religion
does not practically convince you that
life can be made very beautiful as well
as holy, and does not persuade you
that there is joy to be found almost
everywhere if you will train your eyes
to look for it. then put that religion
aside and go to the Christ for a new
set of truths. When God has given
you something, do not take what man
gives you in its stead. Your creed is
well enough if you leave it on the
shelf, but you must keep the Sermon
on the Mount within reach for con
slant use.
Yes, there are signs and tears, but
one may even weep with hope, and
your sorrow at the setting of the sun
is cheered by the promise of a better
morrow. There is no experience which
may not be used for your benefit if
you and God engage in the task to-
gether.
GEORGE n. HEPwoRTH.