Nothing, save supernatural agencies, so effectually removes the
moral film from our intellectual eye as the hand of bereavement. Death is a
great teacher. Sources of pensive reflection and spiritual communion are
opened, which none but death could unseal. A proper sense of the
spirit-world is developed; life appears in its naked reality; heaven gains
new attractions; eternity becomes a holier theme,--a more cheerful object
of thought; the true relation of this to the life to come, is realized; and
the presence of the world of the unseen enters more deeply into our moral
consciousness.
Though our loved ones are gone, they are still with us in spirit; yea, they
are ours still, in the best sense of possession; our relationship with them
is not destroyed, but hallowed. Though absent, they still live and love;
and they come thronging as ministering spirits to our hearts; they hover
near us, and commune with us. Though death may separate us from them, it
does not disunite us. Your departed children, though separated from you in
body, are still yours, are with you in spirit, and are members of your
family. They represent your household in heaven, and are a promise that you
will be there also. You are still their parents; you are still one
family,--one in spirit, in faith, in hope, in promise, in Christ. You still
dwell together in the fond memories of home, and in the bright
anticipation of a coming reunion in heaven.
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