March Fifth.
WHAT IS LIFE?
"I am the Resurrection and the Life."—John xi. 25.
THE question, What is Life? can only be correctly answered by a direct appeal to Revelation; for without this no one can know anything of that wonder of all wonders—Life. The Lord Jesus Christ gave, in the words of our motto, a direct answer to the question, when He said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life!" In these words he affirmed, "I am the Life!" And again it is said of Him, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John i. 4) Life is indeed one and uncreatable. The Lord is therefore that One Life Itself, and the only dispenser of it to angels and men. Hence He is represented by the Tree of Life, which is said to be at once present in the midst of the street of the Holy City, and on either side of the river (Rev. xxii. 2); in the midst and on either side, denoting that the One Divine Life is everywhere present, to bless and animate universal creation. Divine Love and Wisdom, both originating in God, and involved in the word Life, are as the fruits and leaves of the sacred tree; the fruits denoting all the particulars of love which make up celestial food for the nourishment of men; and the truths of His wisdom are as the leaves thereof, which are given in mercy for the healing of the nations—for the correcting and healing of the wanderings and errors of the soul. Life then, is God himself: in life is all power, thus "power belongeth unto God." (Psalm lxii. 11.) Jesus, who is the true God and eternal Life,
