To the regenerated mind, the character and
condition of man appears in a new, and interesting light. To a being
whose existence has but just commenced, death is only a boundary, a
line, that marks off the first, the smallest portion of existence.
Earth with her retinue of allurements, her band of fascinating
syrens, exclaims, "We have lost our hold on this man! He is no longer
ours!" Religion welcomes her new adherent; she beckons him to turn his
steps into a new,--a pleasanter path; and God himself looks down from
heaven with complacency and love, illuminating his track by the light
of his countenance, marking the first step he takes in religion, and
supporting him by the staff of his grace,--the aid of his Holy Spirit.
The first objects that engage the dawning mind of the child are objects
of sense. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. It is a selfish,
sensual creature, ignorant of its Creator, of its destination;
uninclined to the purity, the spirituality, the power of religion;
alienated from the life of God, the life of the soul. Unrenewed by the
influence of religious truth, undirected by the guiding hand of an
Almighty Father, how shall such a creature reach the regions of immortal
bliss? Is it enthusiasm, is it folly, is it hypocrisy, to say to such, a
creature, "You must be born again before you can see the kingdom of
God?" Is that Redeemer to be disclaimed who offers you his divine aid to
form anew your character, to exalt your affections, to enlighten your
dreary and desolate understanding?
* * * * *
=_Nathaniel W.
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