p. 4 | THE SIMPLICITY OF LIFE by William S. Schwartz

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Sep 26, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 39.

THE SIMPLICITY OF LIFE.

By William S. Schwartz

To the candid reasoner the subject of life beyond the grave has been made plain in the record which the Lord has given of the creation of man; so that without any great scholarship all who can read can understand the simplicity of life. There are many men who are interested in and study the anatomy of man, and so learn all about the framework of the human body. But the great problem to be solved, in which all men are interested, is, What is life in the body?

It is very generally believed that life in man is an immortal, invisible embodiment with an eternal conscious existence, and that it has been given a limited time to inhabit this visible body. These views are accepted by the world in general, and believed to be divine truth. But in the record which He has given us of the creation of man, the Lord has given no evidence whatever on which to base such a belief. The inspired Word says, "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." The body, made from substances taken from the ground and skilfully framed together, was an instrument ready to be set into motion. So the Lord "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen. 2:7. Now the body was made of perishable substance (earth), and because of sin man must return again to the earth. "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Gen. 3:19.

The body was made from perishable substances, and the instrument of power which produced life is a perishable substance. For the record says, "The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also." 2 Peter 3:10. So, according to plain statements made by inspired writers, every constituent element which composes the general makeup of man, is perishable, and life must cease, or perish with the materials.

An illustration will show what life is. The life in man is comparatively the same as the life or motion of a steam-engine; it is the effect produced by the power which is applied. This may seem quite absurd to the many who are wrangling and striving over words, to define them to suit the popular belief; but when we study the formation of man as recorded in Gen. 2:7, in connection with our practical knowledge and observation, it is easy, indeed, to understand what life is.

The steam-engine, in its complete structure, has no power within itself; it can not make even a single wheel turn; but by the application of steam the engine is set in motion. Now the steam is not the life of the engine, but the effect produced by the power of steam, when applied, is the life. And no machinery, of whatever nature it may be, can operate itself by itself; a power apart from itself must be applied to the machine to put it in motion. The power, then, which is applied is not the motion, neither is the motion produced without the power; but the motion is the product, or result of the power as it operates upon the machinery.

And so it is with the human body and every other body of flesh. The breath is not the life, neither is life in the body without the breath; life is the effect produced when the breath is breathed into the nostrils. The Lord, then, when He made man and every other body of flesh wherein there is life, made them as machines, with all their joints, organs, and tissues framed together, showing skilful workmanship on the part of the divine Creator. But with all the skill which He possesses, the Lord left every body of flesh which He created entirely helpless within itself to put the machinery of the body into action. The body, before life was produced in it, was devoid of all action, thought, or instinct. It was a mere dead machine or body, just as the engine is a dead engine without steam. Thought, therefore, is not produced, neither can it be until the power which operates the machinery of the body is applied, and acts directly upon the organ of thought. The brain, like all the other organs of the body, has its own peculiar office, and works mechanically and systematically, until through injury or disease it can no longer respond to the power applied; and then it ceases to act, just as the hands of a watch cease to indicate the time of day when its wheels stop running.

Then, to produce life in the body, the Lord created the air, a substance which, when He applied it in the process of breathing, brought the machinery of the body into action. So it is clear that the body is just as dependent upon the power which God has bestowed through the process of breathing, to bring its organs into action, as the engine is upon the power of steam to put its machinery into motion. It is readily seen, then, by the candid reasoner, that life and motion are simply the effect of the power applied. Therefore, when the power which operates the machinery of the body is withdrawn, life must inevitably cease.

Now we have shown that the atmosphere, or the breath we breathe, is not our life, but our life is simply the setting in motion of the organs of the body. When we realize how limited our power is to retain the breath in order that the machinery of our bodies may be kept running, we are better prepared to understand the true nature of life, its simplicity, and its duration.

The above illustration applies only to the life of the flesh, and not to the life of the redeemed. The life which the righteous shall receive in the resurrection, and by translation, will not be the result of merely breathing the air; but by the immediate Spirit and power of the Almighty we shall receive a life that will be equal in duration to that of our Saviour.

Perrydale, Or. WM. S. SCHWARTZ.