almost breath-taking! We certainly do not know that righteousness now. We have only slightly tasted it in the Christian life. The day is soon coming when we shall be what we ought to be. Then we shall be like our Lord in our knowledge. Now we see things imperfectly. We know in part and our knowledge, even of spiritual things, is always mixed with error. In that day we shall know even as Cod knows. All that has puzzled us in this life will be come crystal clear in that wonder ful day. Scripture also makes it very clear that we shall be like Christ when it comes to love. There is so much of self in everything we do. The Saviour's love was selfless and self- sacrificing. It reached us when we were lost. He saved us by love for this life as well as for all eternity. The same love that stooped low enough to reach us will carry us beyond the highest star into His wonderful presence. The New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven, spoken of in Revelation, is actually a new pic ture of the Church, Christ's bride, as she will be in all of her God- given perfection (Revelation 21:9, 10). The dimensions of that city are meant to symbolize perfection. Gold speaks to us of deity. The jewels stand for the fact that the church is precious. The most glor ious truth is that you and I will help to constitute that city when we shall be made like the Saviour Himself. Certainly, Christ is with us in this life. We may trust in the fact that He will be particularly close to us in death. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help Page 46
in trouble. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Psalm 116:15). The day is coming when, in a special sense, we shall be with Him as never before. It will be as the bride is with her husband on the evening of their marriage. In that day there will be no tears, no longings and no disappointments. Today death is always a separation, even for the believer. For the un believer, death is the separation of the soul and the spirit from God for all eternity. For the Christian, death is the separation of the soul and the spirit from the body until the resurrection-rapture. In actuality there is no separa tion from Christ in death for the believer. Paul's dilemma was not that between Christ or no Christ (vs. 23). He was trying to decide between Christ much and Christ more; Christ by faith and Christ by fact. It could only be resolved ultimately by a permanent union with the Lord. How wonderful that you and I can also look forward to that tremendous event. How do ÿou look at death? It certainly is just as inevitable as anything can be. Are you looking forward to the place and the time in which you might be called into the presence of the Lord? Certainly man's hope is his knowledge of Jesus Christ and his personal faith in the Saviour. Whether it is in life or in death, Christ is with us and He is to be magnified in our cir cumstances. When a Christian considers his conduct in the world, he has some excellent standards established in the Word of God. In Philippians 1:27 we read, "Only let your con versation (conduct or behaviour)
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