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light of life.” Thus “ He hath abolished death, and hath brought life and 
immortality to light through the gospel.” We therefore gain another step in 
the attainment of the definite answer to the question, “What is life?” for 
God is not only life, but God is light also. But how can we apprehend light, 
since, like life, it is also an abstract thing, and known commonly only as 
antithetical to darkness ? No, to comprehend it, we must know it in the 
concrete — in a form which is intelligible to us. Thus we find the true light 
became a man like ourselves ; and so God, who is life and light, manifests in 
man what life is. I see life not only in God in the abstract, but also in the 
Son of God, — in a being like unto myself. I can take Him, so to speak, by 
the hand, and follow Him through His life on earth ; and I can understand 
what that life is in operation ; and life in operation, revealed by the true 
light, is love. I discern, then, that God is Life, and Light, and Love ; and 
so I have the three great attributes of God presented to me at last in a form 
which I can understand, and also make intelligible to others. Thus light 
makes manifest to me the life, and the life becomes intelligible to me through 
love. Now, these peculiar attributes or properties of God must, to a certain 
extent, impress themselves upon what passes through His hands in creation, 
since we know from revelation that “ by Him, and through Him, and to Him 
are all things.” Through Him, therefore, it is that all created things pass, 
taking, to a certain extent, an impress from His form and peculiarities. 
Therefore when God says, “ Let us make man in our image,” I expect to find 
in that creature some sign or peculiarity derived from the Creator. But do 
I now see in the thing formed that life or being, light or intelligence, and 
love or charity, which characterizes Him who formed it ? When turned out 
of hand, God certainly pronounced His creature “ very good,” or perfect ; but 
man was unable to sustain that perfection, as he had not life in himself, but 
merely the breath of life, constituting him a living creature ; otherwise the 
Almighty would have created gods instead of men. The creature, however, 
had to learn his insufficiency and instability when left to himself. So this 
good God submitted him to the simplest possible test. With the most 
profuse liberality of the gifts of nature at his disposal, he was to be subject to 
but one law — viz., that he should not eat an apple ; but as soon as the trial 
came he yielded to temptation and fell. Now, what was that fall but from 
a state of perfection or holiness to one of imperfection and failure ? So the 
imperfect became disunited from the Perfect, and man was consequently 
separated from God. But do I not see still in that fallen creature, the 
natural man, even though thus remote from his Creator, some resemblance to 
God adhering to him ? Yes, I recognize some life, light, and love in him, 
but it is only in a fragmentary form. By aid of revelation, I know our 
natural life is but death, our light darkness ; and our love is imperfect or 
insane, often degenerating into hatred. But it may be urged that we are, 
nevertheless, still living. Yes, but wait for the threescore years and ten, and 
then what are we ? — “ even as a shadow ; ” “ as the grass of the field, so we 
perish.” And what is life, if it be not like that from which it originates — 
persistent, eternal? I lately listened to a very interesting lecture at the 
