CanTherebeUnity
from the devil? He would try to prevent such feelings at any cost. Cheer up, and take courage. Fear not, and do not be downcast. Press forward, and go on. There is hope for you after all. Strive. Labor. Seek. Ask. Knock. Press on. You will yet see that you are "sons of God." 3. Let me show you, in the last place, the privileges of the true Christian's relation to God. Nothing can be conceived more glorious than the prospects of the sons of God. The words of Scripture which head up this paper contain a rich mine of good and comfortable things. "If we are children," says Paul, "then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." (Romans 8:17) True Christians then are "heirs." Something is prepared for each one of them which is yet to be revealed. They are "heirs of God." To be heirs of the rich on earth is something. How much more then is it to be son and heir of the King of kings! They are "co-heirs with Christ." They will share in His majesty, and take part in His glory. They will be glorified together with Him. And this, we must remember, is for all the children of God. Abraham took care to provide for all his children, and God takes care to provide for His. None of them are disinherited. None will be cast out. None will be cut off. Each will stand in his place and have a share, in the day when the Lord brings many sons and daughters to glory. Who can tell us of the full nature of the inheritance of the saints? Who can describe the glory which is yet to be revealed and given to the children of God? Words fail us. Language falls short. Mind cannot fully conceive, and tongue cannot express perfectly, the things which are comprised in the glory yet to come upon the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. Oh, it is indeed a true saying of the Apostle John: "What we will be has not yet been made known." (1 John 3:2) The very Bible itself only lifts a little of the veil which hangs over this subject. How could it do more? We could not thoroughly understand more if more had been told us. Our mental capacity is as yet too earthly—our understanding is as yet too carnal to appreciate more if we had it. The Bible generally deals with the subject in negative terms and not in positive assertions. It describes what there will not be in the glorious inheritance that we may, therefore, have some faint idea of what there will be. It paints the absence of certain things, in order that we may drink in a little the blessedness of the present things. It tells us that the inheritance "can never perish, spoil or fade." It tells us that "the crown of glory will never fade away." It tells us that the devil is to be "bound," that "there will be no night there and no longer will there be any curse," that "death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire," that "every tear will be wiped from their eyes," and that the inhabitant will never say, "I am ill." And these are indeed glorious things. No corruption! No fading! No withering! No devil! No curse of sin! No sorrow! No tears! No sickness! No death! Surely the cup of the children of God will surely run over! (1 Peter 1:4; 5:4; Revelation 20:2; 21:25; 22:3; 20:14; 21:4; Isaiah 33:24) But there are positive things told to us about the glory yet to come upon the heirs of God, which ought not to be kept back. There are many sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comforts in their future inheritance, which all true Christians would do well to consider. There are enjoyable refreshments for fainting pilgrims in many words and expressions of Scripture, which you and I ought to store up for the time of need. (a) Is knowledge pleasant to us now?
Is the little that we know of God, and Christ, and the Bible precious to our souls, and do we long for more? We will have perfect knowledge in heaven. What does the Scripture say? "Then I will know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) Blessed be God, there will be no more disagreements among believers! All will finally see eye to eye. The former ignorance will have passed away. We will marvel to find how childish and blind we have been. (b) Is holiness pleasant to us now? Is sin the burden and bitterness of our lives? Do we long for entire conformity to the image of God? We will have perfect holiness in heaven. What does the Scripture say? "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her," not only that He might sanctify it on earth, but also "to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:27) Oh, the blessedness of an eternal good-bye to sin! Oh, how little even the best of us are presently doing! Oh, what unutterable evil sticks, like glue, to all of our motives, all of our thoughts, all of our words, and all of our actions! Oh, how many of us are godly in our words, but, so weak in our works! Thank God, all this will be changed. (c) Is rest pleasant to us now? Do we often feel "exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit?" (Judges 8:4) Do we long for a world in which we will not need to always be watching and doing battle? We will have perfect rest in glory. What does the Scripture say? "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God." (Hebrews 4:9) The daily, hourly conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil, will finally come to an end. The enemy will be subdued. The warfare will be over. The wicked will finally stop causing us trouble. The weary will finally be at rest. There will be a great calm. (d) Is service pleasant to us now?
Do we find it sweet to work for Christ, and yet groan being burdened by such a feeble body? Is our spirit often willing, but hampered and clogged by the poor weak flesh? Have our hearts burned within us when we have been allowed to give a cup of cold water for Christ's sake, and have we sighed to think what unprofitable servants we are? Let us take comfort. We will be able to serve perfectly in glory, and without weariness. What does the Scripture say? "They serve Him day and night in His temple." (Revelation 7:15) (e) Is satisfaction pleasant to us now? Do we find the world empty? Do we long for the filling up of every empty place in our hearts? We will have perfect satisfaction in glory. We will no longer have to mourn over cracks in all our earthen vessels, and thorns in all our roses, and bitter residue in all our sweet cups. We will no longer lament with Jonah over withered gourds. We will no longer say with Solomon, "All of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." We will no longer cry with aged David, "To all perfection I see a limit" What does the Scripture say? "When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness." (Ecclesiastes 1:14; Psalm 119:96; Psalm 17:15) (f) Is communion with the saints pleasant to us now? Do we feel that we are never so happy as when we are with the "glorious ones?" Do we feel most at home when we are in their company? (Psalm 16:3) We will have perfect communion in heaven. What does the Scripture say? "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil." "He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds." (Matthew 13:41; 24:31) Praise be to God! We will see all the saints of whom we have read about in the Bible, and in whose steps we have tried to walk. We will see apostles, prophets, patriarchs, martyrs, reformers, missionaries, and ministers, of whom the world was not worthy. We will see the faces of those we have known and loved in Christ while on earth, and over whose departure we shed bitter tears. We will see them more bright and glorious than they ever were before. And best of all, we will see them without hurry and anxiety, and without feeling that we only meet to part again. In the coming glory there is no death, no parting, no farewell. (g) Is communion with Christ pleasant to us now? Do we find His name precious to us? Do we feel our hearts burn within us at the thought of His dying love? We will have perfect communion with Him in heaven. "We will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:17) We will be with Him in paradise. (Luke 23:43) We will see His face in the kingdom. These eyes of ours will behold those hands and feet which were pierced with nails, and that head which was crowned with thorns. Where He is, there also will be the sons of God. When He comes, they will come with Him. When He sits down in His glory, they will sit down by His side. This is indeed a blessed expectation! I am a dying man in a dying world. All before me is dark. The world to come is a unknown harbour. But Christ is there, and that is enough. Surely if there is rest and peace in following Him by faith on earth, there will be far more rest and peace when we see Him face to face. If we have found it good to follow the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness, we will find it a thousand times better to sit down in our eternal inheritance, with our Joshua, in the promised land. If anyone among the readers of this paper is not yet among the sons and heirs, I do pity you with all my heart! How much you are missing! How little true comfort you are enjoying! There you are, struggling on, and toiling in the fire, and wearing yourself out for mere earthly ends—seeking rest and finding none—chasing shadows and never catching them—wondering why you are not happy, and yet refusing to see the cause—hungry, and thirsty, and empty, and yet blind to the abundance within your reach. Oh, that you were wise! Oh, that you would hear the voice of Jesus, and learn from Him!
If you are one of those who are sons and heirs, you may rightly rejoice and be happy. You can wait with joy, like the boy Patience in Pilgrim's Progress: your best things are yet to come. You can easily bear crosses without murmuring: your light affliction is but for a moment. Your "present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed." "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." (Romans 8:18; Colossians 3:4) You have no need to envy the sinner and his prosperity. You are the truly rich. It was well said by a dying believer in my own church: "I am richer than I ever was in my life." You may say as Mephibosheth said to David: "Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has arrived home safely." (2 Samuel 19:30) You may say as Alexander said when he gave all his riches away, and was asked what he kept for himself: "I have hope." You need not be discouraged by sickness: the eternal part of you is safe and provided for, despite what happens to your body. You can calmly look at death: it opens a door between you and your inheritance. You need not have excessive sorrow over the things of the world—over partings and bereavements, over losses and crosses: the day of gathering is before you. Your treasure is beyond reach of harm. Every year heaven is becoming more full of those you love, and earth more empty. Glory in your inheritance. It is all yours if you are a son of God: "If we are children, then we are heirs." (1) And now, in concluding this paper, let me ask everyone who reads it, Whose child are you? Are you the child of nature or the child of grace? Are you the child of the devil or the child of God? You cannot be both at once. Which are you? Settle the question without delay, for eventually you must die as either one or the other. Settle it, for it can be settled, and it is folly to leave it in doubt. Settle it, for time is short, the world is getting old, and you are quickly drawing near to the judgment seat of Christ.
Settle it, for death is near, the Lord is at hand, and who can tell what a day might bring forth? Oh, that you would never rest till the question is settled! Oh, that you may never feel satisfied till you can say, "I have been born again: I am a son of God!" (2) If you are not a son and heir of God, I plead with you to become one without delay. Do you want to be rich? There are unsearchable riches in Christ. Do you want to be exalted? You will be a king. Do you want to be happy? You will have a peace which transcends understanding and which the world can never give and never take away. Oh, come out and take up the cross and follow Christ! Come out from among the thoughtless and worldly, and hear the word of the Lord: "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:18) (3) If you are a son of God, I plead with you to walk worthy of your Father's house. I solemnly charge you to honour Him with your life; and above all to honour Him by implicit obedience to all of His commands, and to give sincere love to all of His children. Put forth the effort to travel through the world like a child of God and heir to glory. Let men be able to trace a family likeness between you and your Heavenly Father. Live a heavenly life. Seek things that are above. Do not seem to be building your nest below. Behave like a man who seeks a city that is not visible, whose citizenship is in heaven, and who would be content with many hardships till he gets home. Labor to feel like a son of God in every circumstance in which you are placed. Never forget you are on your Father's ground so long as you are here on earth. Never forget that a Father's hand sends to you all your mercies and crosses. Cast every care on Him. Be happy and cheerful in Him. Indeed, why would you ever be sad if you are the King's son? Why should men ever doubt, when they look at you, whether it is a pleasant thing to be one of God's children? Labor to behave towards others like a son of God. Be blameless and harmless in your day and generation. Be a "peacemaker." (Matthew 5:9) Seek for your children sonship to God, above everything else: seek for them an inheritance in heaven, whatever else you do for them. No man leaves his children so well provided for as he who leaves them sons and heirs of God. Persevere in your Christian calling, if you are a son of God, and press forward more and more. Be careful to lay aside every weight, and the sin which most easily entangles you. Keep your eyes fixed steadily on Jesus. Remain in Him. Remember that apart from Jesus you can do nothing and with Jesus you can do everything. (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13) Watch and pray every day. Be steadfast, unmovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Settle it in your heart that never will a cup of cold water, given because you are a disciple of Jesus, ever lose its reward, and that every year you are coming closer to your home in heaven. "For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay." (Hebrews 10:37) Then the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Romans 8:19, 21) Then will the world acknowledge that God's children were the truly wise. Then will the sons of God finally come of age, and no longer be waiting for their inheritance, but actual possessors of it. Then will they hear with exceeding joy those comforting words, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." (Matthew 25:34) Surely that day will make amends for everything!
The Great Gathering
"Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him" [2 Thessalonians 2:1]
The text which heads up this page contains an expression which deserves our most careful attention. That expression is— "Our being gathered." "Our being gathered." Those three words ought to find a response in every part of the world. Man is by nature a social being: he does not like to be alone. Go wherever you want on earth, and you will find that people generally like meeting together, and seeing one another's faces. It is the exception, and not the rule, to find children of Adam who do not like "being gathered together." For example, Christmas is noted as a time when English people "gather together." It is the season when family gatherings have almost become a national institution. In cities and in the country, among rich and among poor, from the palace to the home of the poor, Christmas cheer and Christmas parties are universal experiences. It is often the one time in the whole year for many to see their friends. Sons snatch a few days from the business district to run down and see their parents; brothers take vacations from the desk to spend a week with their sisters; friends accept long-standing invitations to pay a visit to their friends; students rush home from school, and rejoice in the warmth and comfort of their parent's house. For a little while business comes to a standstill: the spinning wheel of ceaseless labor almost seems to stop spinning for a few hours. In short, all over the nation, there is a general spirit of "being gathered" together. It is a happy land where such a state of things exists! Long may it last in our country, and may it never end! Poor and shallow is that philosophy which sneers at Christmas gatherings. Cold and hard is that religion which frowns at them, and denounces them as wicked.