Evening journal., 1916-02-07

may nave II dOundunu!s
We are going to consider this
morning the most important theme
that can occupy the human mind. Il
is the subject Of life. The study OF
life is always fascinating. in whatever
form or manner you find its express /
sion Scholars, throughout the CEN
turtles. have tried to fathom the secret
Of its source The chemist and biolo- J
gist have sought i'm their experiments
in the laboratory to analyze its mys-
teries. The psychologist has at
times thought he has discovered the
origin and practice of life but il con-
stantly eludes his grasp. All the
philosophers. from the time Of Socra-
tes and Plato to the present, have en-
deavored to solve the problem OF inn
mortality. The patriarch, Job. at the
dawn OF recorded history, asked the
question, "If a man die, shall he live
again?" The rich young ruler APP
preached Jesus with a similar in
quiry on his lips. What must I do
to inherit eternal lifeT' The Spanish
adventurer. Ponce de Leon sailed
over the trackless seas. seeking in the
new world the fountain OF perpetual
youth. These instances go to show
that the desire and longing for life
is universal. 1t is the one absolute
essential. Without it everything else
is insignificant.
On January 10, 1910. the freighter
The Czarina, steamed from the port
of Marshfeld Ore, through Coos bay.
Into the Pacific. She carried a crew
OF twenty-five men and one passenger,
the son Of the owner. c. J. Mills. a
student in the state university As
the ship crossed the bar the sun
shone clear and the wind was calm,
! but by a strange phenomenon the
E sea was rolling high. Three immense
q waves in succession swept over the
e boat. flooding the hold and putting
out the fires beneath the boilers. The
ship foundered helplessly in the
trough Of the sea- The distress sig
nal was sent out. but the life-crew
: on the shore could render no aid. II
I was only a little over a quarter OF a
mile out to sea. in plain view Of the
n shore. The ship was being broken "a
a pieces. For fourteen hours the mer
2, held on to the masts. until one after
o another. overcome by the cold and eN
'- haustion. they were swept into the
S ocean. The father of this universit'
q student stood on the beach an'
7 through a field glass distinguished hi
i son. He offered twenty thousand dol
70 lars. all the property he had, to an
Il one who would save his boy. Sal
le that father to me. "The last ] saw o
It my boy he waved his hand anS
it sprang into the sea. He never cam
is up. All perished but one seaman
il who fIoated to shore clinging to
le broken spar" These men realized
r the value Of life.
But from the viewpoint OF Jesus
~ life is not merely physical. He said
- 81 am come that they may have life.
ss Men had physical life before Chris
w came. They had intellectual life
What did He mean when He said, "
" am come that they may have lifey' II
te was looking at life from the tru
a standpoint. not from the tempora
ne but from the eternal. Existence
n not life. The horse and hog an
n elephant have physical life. and to a
ne extent they have intellectual life, bu
le no one would argue that these an
w mails possess immortality. A prom
"a ment biologist recently wrote a scho
'is arly treatise to prove that ang
nd worms think. The mushroom tina
NJ grows up in a night. and as quickl
n decays. is not to be compared wit
lis the cedars Of Lebanon. that haN
b. lived and grown for countless ceI
he turtles.
to Christ was speaking OF life as &C
5" sees it. He declared that all me
as have not life, for real life is spiritua
~ Mankind may be divided into thr'
~ classes. The first. those that HAY
no life: second. those that have son
,er life. and third, those that have ahun
nj ant life Real life does not consist
,m the possession Of properly. Materi
led things are outside and foreign TO q
"a true life. They are like the carmen
nd that are upon men. they do not CO.
'ed stitute a part OF them. You ma
list spend your time in accumulating m
am terial possessions. and yet at q
eh close have no more life. or perhal
'"' not as much as you had near the b
,or ginning. Jesus illustrated this by q
inc example Of the rich fool. He congra
- ulated himself that he had mu
for goods laid up for many years, and
his self-content settled down to eat, drii
as and be merry God said to hi
nat 'Thou fool. this night shall thy so
be- be required OF thee" His riches we
the on the outside. not on the inside wi
all his millions. he died spiritu
he pauper.
~ ~ Moreover. life does not consist
90 culture. Culture can bring to 0
of minds the best that has ever be
d said or written. but culture is Il
nts the fertilizer which the husbandm
to spreads about the roots Of the tr
He If the tree is alive it will grow b'
en- ter on account Of the enrichment,
was il the branches and trunk and rol
20 are dead. no amount OF fertilizer
ma produce leaves and blossoms al
tn fruit.
Ia aiS Moreover, life does not come by
,.",, heritance. By that manner we obt
,onr the physical and psychical. but
! as the spiritual and eternal. Jesus
nan not teach the immortality OF the I
low regenerate soul. That was a pag
Ieek not a Christian doctrine. II is
until the soul is vitalized by the sp
the OF God does it really live Life
sus' not an inheritance. it is an incorp
w alton.
pihy Furthermore. life does not con-
i - flt, an