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Show OUR IMMORTALITY l! ' ; n All That the Past Has Been for Us, and ' " ! 1 All That the Present Can Boast, Is to .' -'j Be Confirmed and Made Everlasting in . a Glorious Immortality. Trials of Life . I Made Easy by This Blessed Truth. Liv- ' 'j ing Perfect Life Here Prepares for Per- , j feet Life in Hereafter. ' I U i If those we have sprung from adds to our lion- ', : est pride when they ha've been of the noble and j f good; if we can take glory in our lives if they be , l virtuous and exemplary, how much more may we l rejoice in the future, since we know that inimor- j taltiy is to be ours, and all that the past has been -1 ; for us. and all that the present can boast, is to bt ' ' l confirmed and made everlasting 'in a glorious ini- ,! mortality. It is of Christian faith that man is im- v mortal, (rod made us to His image and likenes-t. He breathed life into us. and that life was of HU ,, .' own eternal life. Like Him. we are to live for- ' ever; nay, more. He designed that we should live ' v i with Him and share His eternal glory and happi- . , ness. says Bishop Colton in the Buffalo Union and' ' j Times. . s It is Christian faith that establishes Christian j i hope, and both together engender Christian char- ity. It is charity or the love of God which unites I , . : man to God here, and it is this same love that i- " to keep them united forever in heaven. In the ; face of this thought all the trials of life are made easy, and with this- recollection death is welcome ..' to the God-fearing Christian. He has the divine-assurance divine-assurance to comfort him. for the Book of Wis- j dom. 3: 1-4. says: '"The souls of the just are in ;' s the hands of God, and the torment of death shall, not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die, and their departure was taken for misery, and their going away from us for utter destruction; but they are in peace, and though iu the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope --v is full of immortality." It was this thought of . their immortality that buoyed up the confessors in ' heir"Jabors (and "the martyrs hi their pains: It is the remebrance of the heavenly home that nerves t the Christian wife to a life of immolation, and the ' y Christian mother to a career of trial and sacrifice. sacri-fice. It is the recollection of God's holiness that animates the virgin young maiden to have no other , lover but Christ; it is the same thought that make-i ' the noble young man choose celibacy and the hard- i y ships of the religious life. ' . Sometimes we hear men acclaim some man as i the immortal poet, or the immortal statesman, not I " - thinking of the undying life-of him they praise. ; , but merely of the work he performed. It was thus , the pagans did. Xot so true Christians. The work is but secondary to the man who did it. God looks at the intention, and if it be good He rewards it. .. though sometimes circumstances prevented its having hav-ing been carried out. Works perish and the names of those who performed them peri.-h with them. , . but their souls live on with God: with Him if they have, been faithful, or far removed if otherwise. :'. : What profiteth. then, human praise, if God findeth ' !. . nothing to reward, or why strive to please men and -make no effort to please God? For the poor, benighted be-nighted pagan such queries may have no place, but for the believer, the Christian, they are pregnant 1 with meaning, and none such can ignore or fail to follow their answer without peril to his soul. When we think of our immortality, we necessarily think of the eternal God. for without Hint we neither could be. nor can be. He rs our beginnii g. He is our end; yes. He is our life. He is our all. As the Apostle says, "In Ilim we live, move and have our t ' being." All our powers are from Him. all. therefore, there-fore, avc do of good is to His honor, and so to Iliin be the praise and the glory or. as the Psalmist ': says, "Xot to us. not to us. (.) Lord, but to Thy . , name give glory." God wishes to live to us in all things that all things may be perfect in us and 5 worthy eternal reward; but as He has given us free t will, it remains for us to conform to His wishes by giving our wills freely to His divine will. His grace is the means of our perfection, but tt cannot - , be useless we yield ourselves to its sweet and holy ' influence. Thus the good life is the Godly life, or God living in us and we living in Him. His will and our will one, His life and ours one. because it is the life of grace therefore. His life to our , : souls to make us pleasing to Him here, and to prepare U3 for union with Ilim forever hereafter. ; It is living the perfect life here that prepares us . r to be with God the all-perfect hereafter, and heaven's reward is to see God face to face and to ' love and serve Ilim forever when we have loved . and served here, only hidden from us by tiiis world of darkness. Our immortality will be glorious or inglorious just as our life is bright with good or dark with evil. For the good Christian the former is assured, as-sured, because his life is passed with God. How happy the good. There will be trials, but th?re ? . will be consolations to sustain him; there will ever ; be the cross, but His Lord will help him carry it, and in the end there will be the crown which God hath laid up for him. The true Christian lives by faith, and his faith will be rewarded. God Himself Him-self will be his reward, the reward exceeding great. That the thought of immortality may be the con- '., solution to a dying Christian, it should be his animation ani-mation whilst living. It is this thought acted upon , that will purify our intentions and strengthen our endeavors. It is this memory that will help us i live to God iu all things, and prepare us to die joyfully joy-fully to Him. It is our immortality that lifts us up above this earth and all created things, and .makes us live to God and for God. It is the remembrance re-membrance that we are immortal that will inspire us to do deeds worthy of eternity deeds for God ; our Father, deeds creditable to U3 His children. ; " : ., i i |