The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-21
Til GOAL OF LIFE.
Rev. r. A. Cantrell, of the Peoples
Church., Discusses the Subject.

The Rev. E. A. Cantrell, of the Peoples
Church, preached yesterday afternoon at
the Proylaeum on ""The Goal of Life He
said:
II remember when / was a very small
boy of sitting astride my mothers lap one
evening with a hand on either cheek, look
ing into her eyes and asking, Mamma,
where did L come from, anyway We had
been talking about some little hairy birds
that had come in a nest in the old honey
suckle vine near the window. ] wondered
about the birds, and that suggested the
question. Mother put her arms about
me and told me the story of the storks-
how the stOrks came from out the night
and brought me TO her. 1t was a wonder
full story. and l kissed her when 1 thought
how glad i was that the stOrk didn't bring
MCCOY. l went to bed that night and
dreamed about the stoFks. How often since
then has the same question been asked?
How often have we gone to the philoso-
pliers, to the scientists, TO the theolOgians,
with the same question:? o philosophers,
O thinkers, o theolOgians, with your theo-
ries about God, make answer! Where did
L come from, VIVA l know what the
schools say, but i want something authentic.
When did life begin? Through what forms
have we passed? In what cradles have we
been rocked? What doors have swung
open before us and closed behind us? Is
there a height at which we can stand and
see the whole long way that we have come?
Is there a window from which we can look
and see the procession Of souls? Oh, thou
1nfintt One, we are but children yet, and
there is no good mother now TO answer
our QueStiOningSi
I'm the midst of all these mysteries of
life, and love, and death, with all these
q~uestionings, there r. one thing about
which 1 am assured myself am life. We
do not speak any more of men having life,
of having souls, of having spirits. Men are
souls, are lives. are spirits. And there is
another thing about which 1 am very sure.
II there is post existence there was pre-
existence with every one. If il be that life
is eternal, and / believe it is, life with me
didn't begin on the Both of May, 1872. The
point toward which L am working is this:
Every one is of God, and as the great old
Greek philosopher said. That which is of
God is God The Father and / are one.
A preacher OF our city, who, by the way. is
seeing the cat and is going TO be too big
one OF these days for any denomination
said in a morning sermon that the humani-
tarlan movements or the time are from
God. He would like to think that they are
from men, but cannot escape the conclusion
that il is the spirit of God working in men.
Some of us think this was a distinction
without a difference. True, the spirit Of
God is in man. But let me say 1t in another
way: The spirit of God is man. Each man
is an incarnation of the spirit of God.
The fruit of the spirit, the fruit Of life,
is love, joy, peace. faithfulness. goodness,
self-control. In other words. the ultimate
of life is character. There has been some
controversy about church institutions. 1t
seems TO me that the whole matter may be
cleared up if we consider the goal toward
which We are striving. The chief end of
man is lot TO build a church or organize
a state, or formulate a philosophy. These
things of themselves are nothing. The
church is simply the banding together Of
men and women for mutual helpfulness-
for helpfulness toward the ideal of love,
of joy, of peace and goodness. Every man
is spirit. but where is the fruitage? Where
is character? You plant an orchard, you
wait years, you cultivate, you fertilize, and
at last you gather the fruit. Here is the
great garden of humanity, in which every
man is a tree. How long the years OF wait
ing for the fruit of characterl Here and
there we find a fruitful life. A Moses. a
son, "A Whitman, great ccsmic souls that
love, that know the joy of love and serv-
ice. Souls that are at peace with them
selves and with all else that is! Souls that
can look up and say, The Father and L
are one"