Page:The Garden of Eden (Doughty).djvu/161

Rh of the letter, but in the clear-shining of the spirit. If it were truth only, mere knowledge and doctrine, it were not much. But there, in the midst of it, is the life itself. There is the Tree of Life, the Lord our love; there are its fruits of every hue; there are its leaves for the whole world's healing. And they are all parts of a heavenly whole. They are all divine. We can spare no portion of them. Doctrine is for our teaching; but we are taught it that we may live it. Truth is for our enlightenment; but it becomes our condemnation if we fail to walk in the light of it. It is only by living or doing as the truth requires, that our hearts are opened to the reception of the fruit of that immortal tree which is forever in the midst of the paradise of God.

Well, here is a condition of life we all ardently desire. The New Jerusalem is a state of spiritual life and wisdom. It is Eden restored. Its joys are for both worlds, the present and the world beyond. Its universal attainment will banish wrong, disorder, unrest, sorrow and sighing, from the earth. Its attainment by each heart, will banish them from thence. And when we ask, Lord, who shall have it? the answer comes echoing through the corridors of the soul, "Whosoever will!"

If there is a blessing that is worth gaining, it is this; if a life that is worth living, it is this; if a peace worth striving for, it is this. Shall we