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THE LIFE TO COME

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 22, 1878

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 52, No. 9.

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THE LIFE TO COME.

By Eliza H. Morton

The Christian doubts not that there is a life to come. Indeed, this hope is the inspiration of religion. The resurrection of Christ has opened the door of that other life, and gleams of its glory reach us, even here. This world, at best, presents but few attractions. It may charm the senses for a season, but its beauty fades. Time leaves its impress upon the work of man's hand. Disease preys upon the most beautiful living forms, and death visits every household. The careless worldling, at times, feels the insecurity and uncertainty of earthly things and would fain be “as though he had not been.”
Oh, the crushing despair, the hopeless agony, of a soul adrift upon the wild, tempestuous waves of a worthless life! No hope, no light, no comfort! The future a chaos of blackness, and the past an ever-present bitterness!
When sorrow overtakes the Christian, he is not left alone to battle with its cruel power. The strong arm of the Mighty One sustains him, and the sharpness of the trial is softened by the gentleness of His love. When death hovers like a dark cloud over the soul, then the hope of the “other life” shines in all its beauty. Earth grows dim, Heaven draws near, and glory makes the heart light. Oh, the life to come! What power in those words! a life of light and bloom! a life of joy and peace! a life of rest and happiness! a life of endless years! Moments are fleeting that will decide our eternal destiny.
Dear reader, will you spurn the “gift of God”? Will you lose everything in the pursuit of a horrible despair? Better far improve the present and begin at once to form a true and lovely character; for the “pure in heart” alone will taste the sweetness of futurity. ELIZA H. MORTON.