Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1916 — UPWARD, ONWARD [ARTICLE]

UPWARD, ONWARD

Man’s Destiny Will Not Allow the Possibility of a Backward Step. Why are we here? Where did we come from? Where are we going? These are three questions we are all bound to ask, but the answer may never come. All the perplexing prob- , lems of religion and philosophy are involved in these three questions. As a rule we are concerned with the “Meaning of Life,” as it applies to ourselves, whereas it has to do v?ith the realization of the kingdom; it is social and "not individual, co-operative and not competitive. Tolstoy wrote; .“The meaning of life comprehensible to man is the establishment of the kingdom of God upon earth ; that Is, in replacing the egoistic, hate-inspired, violent, irrational organization of society, by a loving, fraternal one.” Man’s birthright is happiness. All natural Instincts are on that side, but the difficulty is how* to obtain it. If it be the gratification of the animal instincts, it is easily and readily obtained; but, thank God, man is something infinitely more than the animal. I have met men and worsen of every position, from the casual laborer to the aristocrat, and I have seen them try to obtain happiness and miss it I have seen the man satisfy his mere animal instincts. I have seen the rich satiated with sensations, and they are the tragedies of life and happiness; the meaning is unknown. They have had the momentary tickling of a nerve, and then —hell. Why are we such fools? We see the failure of others, and yet we fail to be wise. We have been duped by the interpretation of happiness as “pleasure," as something objective. That is, something brought to us, Instead of something born within us, peace, rest, freedom and therefore joy. Evolution Always. Tolstoy is right when he says, “Here is no object." -What he means is that there is nothing which you can place as final, the attainable. The highest art of life is evolutionary, to go on and on and yet still to see the possibility of advance. “The end, attainable only in eternity, which is placed before man, is inaccessible to him; but the direction toward It is attainable.” This Is the glory of Christianity; you die in harness, you never come up to the goal. The Sermon on the Mount is impracticable, so the cynics say. Yes, and they are right, and therein is the most eloquent testimony. You are always going on and on. You mount one peak and you are charmed with the scenery, but beyond there are other mountains, higher still, to call and fascinate with yet more glorious scenery. This Is man’s destiny, to go forward. Our greatest temptation is to rush and hurry, to be impatient of our progress, to be bitterly disappointed about our failures, but all great things are achieved by evolution. My friend, the artist, Mr. Frederick Shields, the last of the pre-Raphaelite school, told me there were four virtues taught in the New Testament —Faith, Hope, Love and Patience —and I have come to be lieve he was right, and the last is often the most difficult to practice, and when accomplished will often be found to be the key of the others. The greatest men and women of the world have lust been the “quiet ones.” The western world has accomplished much, but its greatest inspirations have come from the quietude of eastern mysticism. Sign That Work Is Not Right. The only way to Increase life is to give, you must work; If you do not feel the increase of love and vitality, know then that your work is not right. I am quite aware of the awful monotony of some of the work you have to do to earn bread and butter, but though a machine may Imprison your hands, nothing can make a slave of your mind; keep that free and, believe me, you can do great things If you think purely and altruistically. This war is Burely teaching us the value of living for others, and although you may have doubts about many of the doctrines of religion, the human and divine meaning of the atonement is just living to make other people happy. You must do good to be good, piety without service is a fraud; use your gifts, your time, your soul, and then you will grow and understand that life is not a pond, but a flowing river. - The call is to our best. I know it sounds prosaic, but the mechanic, the clerk, the servant girl can only fulfill the will of God by doing their best. Many people are waiting jfor something big to do and neglecting the plain duty that lies close at hand. Cultivate the home patch, and then, and then only, will you understand the meaning of life. — Rev. A. J. Waldros.