p. 485 | LIFE by Eliza H. Morton

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 4, 1880

LIFE.

By Eliza H. Morton

BY ELIZA H. MORTON.

Life is, and ever has been, to the candid, thoughtful mind, a mystery. Who fashioned the delicate and intricate organs of the human body, and from whence came the vital spark which animates the same? Why is it that after a little time we must yield up our individual existence and, seemingly, become as if we had never been? Why this little season of life, strength, and activity, and why these hopes, longings, and aspirations? Why this multitude of beings, similar, yet unlike ourselves?

These questions have been asked, pondered, and studied carefully by wise men in all ages of the world. Search the annals of the past, study the open book of nature, ponder carefully every philosophical reason, and weigh well every hypothesis which may be formed, and you will obtain no light, no well-grounded theory, no foundation upon which to build your hopes. But is there no information for the human race as to their origin, object, and destiny? Yea, verily, there is a sure guide, a safe pilot, a "thus saith the Lord."

The Bible is the only compass which points through the gloom and darkness of the grave, and opens before the mind of man views of heavenly bliss and visions of immortal glory in the future. If we disbelieve the Bible, where are we in this world's darkness, and what have we to rest our hopes upon?

The hope of the Christian is a glorious one—big with immortality. It tells us that life is not limited to three-score years and ten, but may be eternal. It tells us that this short, earthly life is given us in which to prepare for that life which has no end, but is one long eternity of joy, peace, happiness, and rest.

As we look back into the past, we find that sorrow, pain, anguish, tribulation, and death, have followed in the footsteps of man. What heart-aches, weariness of the flesh, disappointments, and unrest, the human race have endured! As we look forward into the future, our earthly eyes, unaided by the light of revelation, can discern nothing but gloomy shadows and thick darkness; but by the eye of faith we can look down through the dim vista of coming years and see far ahead a tiny star, which grows brighter and brighter until it merges into the light and glory of the eternal world. What views of loveliness and gleams of glory flash before the mind, and what longings for a nobler, truer, better life, are awakened by these foretastes and glimpses of the restful peace of that far-off heavenly land.

Let us then endeavor to make this life a success, that when that life shall dawn our lives may run parallel with the life of God through a never-ending eternity.