The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1907-03-25
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A FAR COUNTRY: EASTERN MEDI-
TATIONS.
China was an unreal place to me.
looked with small interest at the
yellow splotch which represented II
on the map But one day favorite
niece of mine was on the point of
sailing for China. 1 talked With her
over the "long distance" ! twitted
her with the Oriental slant already,
as alleged. appearing in her eye.
heard her merry laugh and then, over
one thousand miles OF wire came her
I"GcodbN Unclet' and she was gone.
And years must pass before ! see her
face again Instantly China was real
to me. and a place Of absorbing inter
eest. One of my own" was there.
she was treading the soil aud breath
ing the air of the yellow empire Now
all books, pictures. persons that can
tel me something of China at once
command by attention.
Heaven is like a far away and I'M
real place to us. concerning which II
is difficult to have lively interest. But
let one OF our own sail away to that
distant country and instantly all Is
changed. Heaven ceases to be myth
ical We have an absorbing desire to
know what 1t is like, who are its in
habitants and what their occupations.
This desire expresses itself in the
lines:
20 talk to me of heaven. ! love
To hear about my home above:
For there doth many loved one
dwel
In light and Joy ineffable.
0 tell me how they shine and sing
While every harp rings echoing;
And every glad and fearless eye
Beams like the bright sun gloriously
Tell me of that victorious palm
Each hand In glory beareth.
Tell me of that Celestial calm,
Each face in glory weareth.'
The quest of beauty has been age
long. All the arts have sought it,
but all say: I'VE have not attain5d'
Heaven will be the realization of the
ideal beauty Tradition says that St.
Cecilia. on hearing an angel choir
broke her instruments and dropped
them on the ground She stood en-
tranced at the sbsolute perfections OF
melody to which she could only APP
proximate. So at first vision of the
perfection of heavenly beauty, 1t will
be confess d that what man sought,
God real zed.
The occupation of heaven will be de-
votional conte.nplatiye and active.
Heaven is temple-and worship is
inseparable from a temple. John the
Divine gays Il heard the voice of
harpers and they sang new song
before the throne" Again, the capa-
city and facility for acquiring knowl-
edge viii remain--only greatly en-
larged. Eut the heavenly life will not
he merely devotional and contempla-
tive. 1t will be active. There, as
here, will be application of knowledge
lor definite ends,
at Is mistak, to divorce the lite
in the world from the lie in heaven.
The mere experience OF transition
will nave no eject upon character.
lt has been said the dead H0ttent0t
Knows more than the living Plato.
But the HOttentot in heaven will ac-
qyire just as much as he has capacity
Tor and no more. Our pr sent duty
1 is to enlarge our capacity. This we
do by thought worship, love and ser
vice 4a,,a
A genuine rustic, when he comes tc
town. cen do nothing but cape and
stare Bat there live in the country
many people who are in tune vita the
city. BY reading, conversation ant
thought they have come to know the
city and its ways. They walk tho
streets as II they had always liveC
there. So II is possible to live in sucl
tune with the Celestial City that WI
shall enter 1t as If II belonged to Vi
and we were always its citizens.
Sine | am coming to that holy room
Where with the choir of saints TO
eyermord
| shall be made Thy music as | com'
II tune the instruments here at th'
doo;,
And what ! must do there, think her,
4.