Just a little farther on–just a little farther on–
Oh, the happy days that lure us when these days of stress are gone!
Days of restfulness and pleasure, days of garnered joy and treasure,
All the harvest-homes of dreamland–just a little farther on.
What a hope to keep them smiling–faces wistful, faces wan!
What a spur to faint endeavour till the crushing task is done!
Oh, ‘twould be a sorry showing life would make for God’s bestowing
If the good time did not beckon–just a little farther on.
We call certain men visionary. They are always seeing visions and dreaming dreams, but their visions and dreams are never realized. Raphael was once asked how he painted his wonderful pictures. He answered: “I dream dreams and I see visions, and then I paint my dreams and visions.” That is what we should do with all the beautiful and noble things that come into our hearts and minds as we think and ponder. Everything lovely that rises before us in thought and feeling we should set to work to make true in our life and character.
We see heavenly visions sometimes in books, as we read the thoughts that others have written. Every book that is worth reading sets some noble ideal before its readers. The test of a good novel, from a moral point of view, is found in the impression it leaves on those who read it, the vision it puts into their hearts. If it is merely sentimental, if it has no high aim, if it does not inspire us to live more heroically, more helpfully, more kindly, more unselfishly, and to attain better things in character, it is not worth while to read it. But every book that starts in us the longing to make more of our life, or that causes us to desire to be truer-hearted, gentler, purer, and more Christlike, is a book worth while and we should be obedient to its vision.
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