Basic HTML Version
A Welcome to the Heavenly Home, September 30
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the
truth may enter in.
Isaiah 26:2
.
The life on earth is the beginning of the life in heaven.
We are children of the heavenly King, members of the royal family,
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. The mansions Jesus has gone
to prepare are to receive only those who are true, who are pure, who love
and obey His words.... If we would enjoy eternal bliss, we must cultivate
religion in the home.... Peace, harmony, affection, and happiness should
be perseveringly cherished every day, until these precious things abide
in the hearts of those who compose the family.
That which will make the character lovely in the home is that which
will make it lovely in the heavenly mansions.
If we manifest the character of Christ here, keeping all the com-
mandments of God, we shall be cheered and blessed with glimpses of
the pleasant home in the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare.
Let all that is beautiful in our earthly home remind us of the crystal
river and green fields, the waving trees and the living fountains, the
shining city and the white-robed singers, of our heavenly home—that
world of beauty which no artist can picture, no mortal tongue describe.
There the loves and sympathies that God has planted in the soul
will find truest and sweetest exercise. The pure communion with holy
beings, the harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the
faithful ones of all ages, the sacred fellowship that binds together “the
whole family in heaven and earth”—all are among the experiences of
the hereafter.... With unutterable delight we shall enter into the joy and
the wisdom of unfallen beings.
It is the privilege of parents to take their children with them to the
gates of the city of God, saying, “I have tried to instruct my children to
love the Lord, to do His will, and to glorify Him.” To such the gate will
be thrown open, and parents and children will enter in.
[280]
289