If men were assured of the indestructibility of life what a load would be lifted from them! For it is certain that fear of death is responsible for a great deal of the misery of human existence, just as it is certain that fear of death prevents the healing of disease. Lift the dread of this enemy from the thought of one who believes that he is about to pass away, and hope and faith will be revived within his consciousness; and with their coming again there will be a renewal of health and strength.
Christianity brought to mankind the knowledge of the indestructibility of life, the knowledge of the eternal nature of Life. Christ Jesus taught this knowledge and demonstrated it for others as well as for himself. When he raised Jairus' daughter, the widow of Nain's son and Lazarus from the dead, he proved that their lives had not been destroyed. When he mastered death in his own case, rising from the grave after working on his problem for three days, he proved that his life was indestructible. The disciples regarded Jesus' resurrection as overwhelming proof of the truth of his teaching. It is on record in the Acts of the Apostles that he was in communication with them for forty days after he came forth from the tomb, inspiring them with moral courage for the great work which lay before them of the Christianization of the world.
But Christendom only partially understood the teaching and demonstration of the Master. Early in the history of Christianity the belief became general that it was necessary to pass through the experience of death in order to enter into the enjoyment of eternal Life. It is not difficult to account for this. Death was so universally accepted as inevitable that its overcoming on the part of men was regarded as something scarcely to be considered as a possibility. So that since the desire to live eternally was a universal desire, the demonstration of eternal life was relegated to the future.
