If we reach the high plane of a perfect manhood, we must climb. "Come
up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter."--Rev.,
iv, 1. In this mystical Revelation we behold the seer, John, dreaming
at the base of the celestial hill, and in his dream he hears a voice
commanding him to rise to the summit of the eternities, where,
standing, he shall behold all things that must be. This vision has an
infinite significance, in that no small part of the felicity associated
with the| idea of eternity is the thought that, with ample mind, we
shall perfectly understand the mighty plan and enterprise of God, and
know with perfect knowledge that which is dark and obscure now. But
not only has this truth to us an infinite significance; it has also a
temporal one, in that it tells us that there is an immediate
relationship between elevation of life, between high thinking, living
and doing, and the power to command the future. "Come up hither, and I
will show thee things which must be hereafter." That is, let us stand
high and we see far and wide, let us stand high and we see deep.
Elevation grants perspective and yields the possession of those years
not only that are, but that are not. Now, so understood, these words
have much inspiration, comfort and solace for all of us, for a very
large part of man's life is future. Indeed, the great regulative force
of every human spirit is not so much the present and the past--present
opportunity and past experience--as future ideality. The architectonic
principle of life is not the momentum that sweeps down to us from the
years that have been, but the ideal that lies deep in the years that
are yet to be. This is the mysterious, occult power that moulds, forms
and fashions our stature, and that is determining the greatness or the
littleness of our destiny. And not only is the future architectonic,
it is also an inspiration and refuge for our anxieties, defeats and
inadequacy, his incompetency, how little he has achieved, realizes his
inconsequence and insignificance, and he looks forward and sees triumph