ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:9). Think of being in timate with Peter, James, and John! Think of sitting down with these eye witnesses of stupendous happenings and having them tell us about the transfig uration, the resurrection, the ascension. Imagine conversing with Paul and Silas; with Mary, the mother of our Lord; with Elijah, and Daniel, .and Abel, the first martyr. We shall meet the reformers, John Huss, Martin Luther, John Wy- cliffe, and others, as well as great evan gelists of modern times: Wesley, White- field, Finney, Moody, Torrey. We shall see Gabriel and Michael. We shall be hold a myriad of angels. Our loved ones will be there—those who have died trust ing in the finished work of Calvary. I shall see my dear old mother, and you shall see yours if she was in her life time a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall clasp that precious hand once more and hear that well-loved voice. But, above all, we shall see the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Word of God as sures us that “we shall see his face.” We are to be “for ever with the Lord.” Heaven would not be Heaven without Him. I have read somewhere of a child who was inconsolable over the loss of her mother. Her father, for a change of scenery, sent her to another locality. While she was gone, he built a beautiful house and filled it with rare and costly furnishings. Then he sent for his little girl and brought her into the house which he had built. But he could not interest her in any part of it. She would give one quick look around the room that was being shown to her, and then would ask to be shown to the next. At last, her father had to say, “ My child, there are no more rooms. You have seen them all.” And then she fell to the floor with a despairing cry: “ O Mamma, Mamma, this is not home without you!” Our grateful hearts can understand the child’s feeling and we can say with reverent adoration, “ O blessed Lord Jesus, even Heaven would not be Heaven without Thee!” It is not the golden streets that we look for, but we long to “ see his face.” When we stand in that glorious com pany, we shall not be afraid. We shall not only see Him, but we shall be like Him, and we shall praise His name for ever. Several years ago, I was going across the Pacific. I was standing on the prom enade deck, watching the blazing sun about to disappear over the horizon. There were innumerable little white- crested waves moving in a westerly di rection and each one seemed to be doing obeisance to the sun. As I gazed upon that sight, I thought of that day when the redeemed of all the ages will stand in Immanuel’s land, and every head Page Ten “ Friends will be there I have loved long ago.”
will be turned in the direction of the Son of God and the united voices of that vast multitude will acclaim: “ Thou . . . hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation . . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain . . . Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Rev. 5:9-13). Heaven is . a place of glad reunions. The Apostle Paul comforted the Thessa- lonians who were sorrowing because of the death of loved ones by saying, “ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the ☆ ☆ M Y SHEPHERD Lonely I trod the moor. Black was the sky; There was no man nor beast, No creature nigh; Only G rief dogged my steps, G rief and Despair. Fled I to north or south, Still they were there. Darkness had compassed me, Gone was my sight, Well-nigh my feet had slipped .. . Then shone a light, Then spoke a Voice to me, Gentle and Sweet, "O thy poor bleeding heart, O thy torn feet! "I am thy Shepherd kind, Thou art My sheep. Safely within My arms Rest now and sleep." Then slunk those wolves away, clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). How well do we remem ber the time when the hearse came for the body of one of our dear ones! We shall meet that dear one again, if he or she died in Christ. Some people ask the question, “ Shall we know each other in Heaven?” If mutual recognition were not to be had in Heaven, how could Paul say to the Thessalonians, “We . . . shall be caught up together with them [our departed dead] . . . Wherefore comfort one an other with these words” ? There would be no comfort in being caught up with our loved ones if we did not recognize them or know who they were! As Moses and Elijah were recognized by others on the Mount of Transfiguration; as Stephen knew his Lord as he was being stoned, and as Dives in hell recognized Lazarus and Abraham, so in the life beyond the grave each of us shall know even as also we are known. This belief in continued recognition after death has been beautifully set G rief and Despair . . . Suddenly morning broke, Rosy and fair! —Martha Snell Nicholson i t i t
forth in a silent testimony. There are graven on the tombstone which marks the place where Charles Kingsley and his wife both are buried, the three Latin words Amavimus, Amamus, Amabimus, which when translated, means “ We have loved; we love; we shall love.” Such was Kingsley’s faith! And such is ours! “ And with the morn Those angel faces smile, . Which I have loved long since And lost awhile.” When D. L. Moody lay dying, his son leaned over him to listen to his last utterance. And these were the words that he heard: “ Earth is receding; Heaven is opening; God is calling.” “ You are dreaming, Father,” said the son, gently. “ No, Will, this is no dream. I have been within the gates. I have seen the children’s faces.” “ The children’s faces” referred to Mr. Moody’s children who had preceded him to the glory land. Yes, there will be glad reunions. We have Christ’s own words of assurance for that in Matthew 8:11: “ And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” That verse assures us of preserved personalities. What a blessed thought! In connection with the prospect of reunions in Heaven, one may ask a question in regard to children. Speaking of little ones, the Lord uttered these precious words: “ In heaven their an gels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 18:- 10). Could you wish for a more delight ful occupation for the darling of your heart and home? It is sometimes asked, “ Do children grow after their spirits have passed from earth?” Some writers suggest that those who pass away in childhood have their purpose in Heaven—as children— that without them much would be missed in Heaven by all motherly and fatherly hearts. This view is based on the prem ise that apart from human life on earth, human growth, increase, and develop ment cannot be; and that, whether child, youth, or patriarch at the time of death, to whatever status the individual has at tained, so he or she abides. Accordingly, while others might have grown sons or daughters there, a mother would have her child in Heaven as a child forever. Hence it is pointed out that when Christ comes to raise our bodies, He will raise them just as when they were first put into the ground, without having aged in any way. Thus children of one year, would still be, in size and appearance, children of one year, and children of ten years would still look like children of ten. This view, while it has in it ah ele ment of comfort and possibility, never theless presents some difficulties. For ex ample: If a mother goes to be with (Continued on Page 28) T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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