The Missionary by Stephen Nelson Haskell

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 17, 1884

The Missionary.

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

"The Way of Life."

THE question has arisen, What connection has "The Way of Life" with present truth, and is it advisable for our brethren to purchase it? We think "Christ the Way of Life," as illustrated in the new steel engraving, assists greatly in impressing the mind with divine things.

There is a power in pictures. We receive more information through the eye than through either of the other senses, and the impressions made upon the mind are deeper and more lasting than those received through any other avenue: It was the great metallic image brought before the mind of Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, that taught him what would come to pass in the last days. The four beasts of Dan. 7, the ram, the he-goat, and the little horn of Dan. 8, and the visions of John as given in the Revelation, are the clearest prophetic chains we have in the Scriptures.

The "Way of Life" is a work of art. It is a steel engraving of the finest quality. Mr. Sartain designed it for the engraver, and was paid five thousand dollars for his work, a price paid only to artists of great skill.

Nothing can be more instructive than the design of this picture. It gives at a glance the whole plan of salvation, and the relation that man sustains to the "law of God." It represents Christ as the great center of all worship, from the fall of man to the final deliverance of God's people. It shows the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden; and by the shadow of the cross, which reaches back to the fall of man, it offers hope to the transgressor through repentance and faith in Christ. As Cain goes out from the presence of God, he leaves the shadow of the cross in hopeless despair. Abel dies by his altar in the shadow of the cross, having hope in Christ. The priest stands pointing the sinner to the cross, his only source of life and hope, as he kneels before the lamb with his hand upon its head, confessing his sin. Hence, in the former dispensation every ceremony was acceptable to God only as the individual had faith in Christ.

In the background are placed the ruins of heathen temples, while Christ is in the front, indicating that the Christian religion has ever triumphed over superstition and idolatry. The blackness of the clouds and the glaring of the lightnings represent the state of nature when Christ died. The Lord's Supper and the baptismal scene, which are so vividly illustrated, reveal the relation which Christ sustains to his people in the present dispensation. The holy city descending from God out of Heaven, brings to mind the glorious new earth, which will be the final reward of the saints. All this, and much more, is seen at a glance.

Is not an engraving which teaches such momentous truths suitable to adorn the home of every Christian? Is there anything more appropriate? If there is any virtue at all in a picture, if the mind can be impressed by what we see, then every family of Seventh-Day Adventists should have at least one copy of this picture, and it should be placed in the room where the family are most accustomed to assemble. Then it should be studied until even the children are prepared to explain it. If anciently parents were to teach the law to their children when they rose up and when they lay down, when they came in and when they went out, then the truth taught in this picture should not be neglected by those who believe that the seven last plagues are soon to be poured out, and that Christ is to come in their generation. Evil thoughts produce evil communications, and evil communications corrupt good manners; while good thoughts manifested in good works are the light of the world.

We have two of these pictures in our house; one on the wall at the foot of our bed, so that the first thing we see in the morning, upon opening our eyes, is the cross of Christ; another, in the sitting-room, so placed that the attention of callers may be directed to it, should a fitting opportunity present itself. We recommend that every family of our brethren and sisters have this picture hung in the most commonly-used room in the house, and that it be carefully studied in connection with the key which has been prepared to go with it. The article on the sufferings of Christ, accompanying the key should receive careful attention.

If our people could realize the refining and elevating influence which such pictures have upon the mind, as well as the truth of the great plan of salvation illustrated in the "Way of Life," every family of Seventh-day Adventists would have this picture hung upon the walls of their dwellings, if at all consistent with their means. S. N. HASKELL.