The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-04-12

breathed into man the breath of life
and he became living soul, so Paul
says, eff a man be in Christ he is a
new creation God has breathed into
him the Holy Spirit, and he has got
ten, in one flash, something he could
never get in lifetime of work and
struggle.
Now We come to another thought in
the text. 1t is not only that you must
die first, and that the next life hinges
on this death, but you must die with
Him. What is it to be dead with Him?
Ii is true that He died to sin, and we
die to sin. 1t is true that He died the
natural death, and we die the natural
death. But it is clearly something
more than that, for all die the natural
death, but all do not die with Him. In
Thessalonians, it is said the dead in
Christ shall rise first. Then there are
some who are not dead in Christ; they
are not dead with Him.
When you have His life you have
Him. To be dead with Him is to have
His life in you when you die, just as
the seed has the life germ in it when
it dies.
Not all seeds have life in them.
All eggs are not fertile. Some ami
mails and some people are barren. The
life principle is not there. 1t is of no
use for the seed to die in the ground if
the life is not in it. 1t will not grow.
1t is in vain the apple tree blooms if
they are not pollenized; there will be
no fruit.
Just so in our natural death; if you
have not the life of Jesus in you when
your body dies, there will be no life
beyond; nothing but the second death,
the death of the soul. But if you have
His life in you when you die-by all
the laws of nature. and ali the laws of
God, with all His power to back them,
you will live; live with him in glory.
There is another thought. What you
sow does not come up; it always dies
in the ground. But something comes
up, always of the same kind, though
never the actual substance. For in
stance, you SOW wheat, and wheat al
ways comes up never oats, nor barley,
nor any other grain; but the actual
grain you sow always rots in the
ground.
So Paul says: "That which thou
soweth. thou sowest not that body that
shall be, but bare grain, it may chance
of wheat or of some other grain; but
God giveth body as it pieaseth Him,
and to every seed his own body. So
also is the resurrection of the dead. 1t
is sown in corruption; it is raised in
interruption it is sown in dishonor, it
is raised in glory; it is sown in weak
ness, it is raised in power; it is sown
a natural body, it is raised spiritual
body"
Don't think for a moment your ac-
tual body will be raised in the resur-
rection. 1t will never be. 1t will
rot in the ground like the seed that is
planted. Thank God for that! don t
want my lame back, nor my lame foot.
You don't want your weak eyes nor
you weak heart, nor your weak lungs.
0, glorious thought! 1t is raised in
interruption.
At the bottom of this is a most COM
forting thought. Let us hasten to it.
While the grain you sow never comes
up, yet it is SO like it you never have
any trouble in telling if it is wheat or
rye or oats or barley. God giveth to
every seed his own body, with its own
strong individuality. So also is the
resurrection of the dead. So, just so,
| know ! shall know my father, my
mother and my dear friends in glory.
In Los Angeles once, when there
were immense throngs of people and
vehicles of all kinds at the crossing, !
saw an old man waiting to cross over.
Pretty soon policeman came and took
hold of his arm with one hand, holding
him up so he would not stumble nor
fall; with the other hand he held up
the thrOng of dangerous vehicles and
made safe path for him to the other
side. o, my brother, you must cross
over to the other side, and it is more
than a street crossing. Jesus is the
great policeman. YEA. though
walk through the valley of the shadow
of death ! will fear no evil, for thou
art with me-
To all of you. in Christ Jesus, who
are nearing the end of life's journey
whose eyes are dim, whose steps are
feeble. whose strength is slipping
away; you are not nearing the tomb,
you are nearing the resurrection morn.
ing. II will soon be planting time, for
some of US. And, If we have been
planted together in the likeness of His
death, we shall be also in the likeness
of His resurrection.
Thousands of years ago in the Oldest
piece of literature in the world a man
cried out in anguish, from a heart of
agony, "lf man die, shall he live
again?" The cry echoed down the
ages. In the long years that followed
no comforting answer was ever given
till Jesus rose from the dead. Then
the answer came echoing back from a
man inspired of God. "If we be dead
with Him we shall also live with
Him. f"