Reward of Earnest Effort
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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.
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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 explana-
tion. 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
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who, when their Lord comes, shall be found watching.
Homeward Bound
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.