Homeward Bound!
By Mrs. E. G. White
My brother, my sister, I urge you to prepare for the coming
of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Day by day cast the love
of the world out of your hearts. Understand by experience what
it means to have fellowship with Christ. Prepare for the judgment,
that when Christ shall come, to be admired in all them that
believe, you may be among those who will meet Him in peace.
In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the
Father and the Son. The angels, touching their golden harps,
will welcome the King and His trophies of victory--those who
have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. A
song of triumph will peal forth, filling all heaven. Christ
has conquered. He enters the heavenly courts, accompanied by
His redeemed ones, the witnesses that His mission of suffering
and sacrifice has not been in vain.
The resurrection and ascension of our Lord is a sure evidence
of the triumph of the saints of God over death and the grave,
and a pledge that heaven is open to those who wash their robes
of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Jesus
ascended to the Father as a representative of the human race,
and God will bring those who reflect His image to behold and
share with Him His glory.
There are homes for the pilgrims of earth. There are robes
for the righteous, with crowns of glory and palms of victory.
All that has perplexed us in the providences of God will in
the world to come be made plain. The things hard to be understood
will then find explanation. The mysteries of grace will unfold
before us. Where our finite minds discovered only confusion
and broken promises, we shall see the most perfect and beautiful
harmony. We shall know that infinite love ordered the experiences
that seemed most trying. As we realize the tender care of Him
who makes all things work together for our good, we shall rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven. In the home
of the redeemed there will be no tears, no funeral trains, no
badges of mourning. "The inhabitant shall not say, I am
sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their
iniquity." Isaiah 33:24. One rich tide of happiness will
flow and deepen as eternity rolls on.
We are still amidst the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities.
Let us consider most earnestly the blessed hereafter. Let our
faith pierce through every cloud of darkness and behold Him
who died for the sins of the world. He has opened the gates
of paradise to all who receive and believe on Him. To them He
gives power to become the sons and daughters of God. Let the
afflictions which pain us so grievously become instructive lessons,
teaching us to press forward toward the mark of the prize of
our high calling in Christ. Let us be encouraged by the thought
that the Lord is soon to come. Let this hope gladden our hearts.
"Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come,
and will not tarry." Hebrews 10:37. Blessed are those servants
who, when their Lord comes, shall be found watching.
We are homeward bound. He who loved us so much as to die for
us hath builded for us a city. The New Jerusalem is our place
of rest. There will be no sadness in the city of God. No wail
of sorrow, no dirge of crushed hopes and buried affections,
will evermore be heard. Soon the garments of heaviness will
be changed for the wedding garment. Soon we shall witness the
coronation of our King. Those whose lives have been hidden with
Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of
faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer's glory in the kingdom
of God.
It will not be long till we shall see Him in whom our hopes
of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials
and sufferings of this life will be as nothingness. "Cast
not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense
of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have
done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet
a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not
tarry." Verses 35-37. Look up, look up, and let your faith
continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow
path that leads through the gates of the city of God into the
great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for
the redeemed. "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the
coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he
receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish
your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
James 5:7, 8.
Published in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pp. 285-288.
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