The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-27
CHEERFULNESS OF DEATH.
Nothing RepuIsive or Terrying in
the Dissolution of Soul and Body.

Nothing RepuIsive or Terrying in
the Dissolution of Soul and Body.
w. w. Keen, NJ. D., in the Outlook.
Most people, even most Christian
people, shrink, even from death. In
sermons and hymns and in literature,
it is generally represented as repul-
sive. 1t is spoken of as deaths cold
stream 1.-The last enemy" the dark
valley of the shadow of DEATH" and
the 'terrors of death" are pictured in
vivid terms. For the Christian, at
least, this is all wrong. Death should
be in reality his best friend; welcomed
rather than feared.
So far as the physical aspect of
death is concerned, the universal
teaching of physicians is that the pro-
cess of dying is rarely painful or even
unwelcome to the patient, though full
of sorrow to his family. A happy I'M
consciousness in nearly all cases
shields the dying man from pain. The
weakness, the fever, the parched lips,
the labored breathing, are all unfelt.
Most people die quietly and often al
most imperceptibly.
We thought her dying when she slept,
And sleeping when she died."
Is often true. Even when conclusive
movements occur, they are entirely in
dependent of consciousness; merely
physical in origin and character, and
absolutely unattended by any suffer
ing.
If, then, death is NOT an unpleasant
process physically, why should it be
feared from the spiritual side? See
what it does for the Christian.
1t frees from accident, sickness, and
suffering, to which his body has been
liable all his life, and from which he
has often suffered, sometimes intense
ly and for long periods of time.
1t frees him from all sorrow. No one
who has reached even adolescence eS-
capes sorrow. To many, sorrows are
multiplied MANIFOLD and bear down
even the stoutest heart. The weary
and the 'heavy laden" make up the
mass of mankind.
1t opens the gates of heaven to him.
While we know nothing accurately of
the details of the heavenly life, we do
know that there we shall live in eter
nal bliss; there we shall be in the
presence of God himself; there we
shall see and know intimately our
Lord Jesus Christ; there we shall feel
the influence of the holy spirit; there
we shall meet the saints of all ages;
there we shall be reunited to the dear
ones who have happily preceded us;
there shall come in due time the dear
ones we have left on earth; there our
minds will expand beyond our pres
ent comprehension; there all the I'M
solved problems of earth will be clear
as day; there we shall learn why per-
plexity, disappointment, and trouble
were our lot on earth and were need
full for the orderly and sufficient de-
velopment of our own character, and
of Gods large plans not only for us,
but for the race; there, in word, all
that is evil shall vanish away and all
that is good shall be ours forever.
If death, then, is not a painful, I'M
pleasant process, and if it does for us
so much, it should be, not the last
enemy, but our best friend; not dread
ed as the messenger of evil, but well
coined as companion who will lead
us into paths of pleasantness and re-
veal to us the joys for which we have
been longing all our lives. We should
not speak of the terrors of death, but
should feel in our very hearts the
cheerfulnesS of death.