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We Shall Recognize Each Other, December 25
Then shall I know even as also I am known.
1 Corinthians 13:12
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We shall know our friends, even as the disciples knew Jesus. They may have
been deformed, diseased, or disfigured, in this mortal life, and they rise in perfect
health and symmetry; yet in the glorified body their identity will be perfectly
preserved.... In the face radiant with the light shining from the face of Jesus, we
shall recognize the lineaments of those we love.
The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed
to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they have with these souls! “I was
a sinner,” it will be said, “without God and without hope in the world, and you
came to me and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope....”
Others will say, “I was a heathen in heathen lands. You left your friends and
comfortable home and came to teach me how to find Jesus and believe in Him as
the only true God. I demolished my idols and worshiped God, and now I see Him
face to face. I am saved, eternally saved, ever to behold Him whom I love....”
Others will express their gratitude to those who fed the hungry and clothed the
naked. “When despair bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me,” they
say, “to speak words of hope and comfort. You brought me food for my physical
necessities, and you opened to me the Word of God, awakening me to my spiritual
needs. You treated me as a brother. You sympathized with me in my sorrows, and
restored my bruised and wounded soul, so that I could grasp the hand of Christ
that was reached out to save me. In my ignorance you taught me patiently that I
had a Father in heaven who cared for me. You read to me the precious promises
of God’s Word. You inspired in me the faith that He would save me. My heart
was softened, subdued, broken, as I contemplated the sacrifice which Christ had
made for me.... I am here, saved, eternally saved, ever to live in His presence and
to praise Him who gave His life for me.”
What rejoicing there will be as these redeemed ones meet and greet those
who have had a burden in their behalf! And those who have lived, not to please
themselves, but to be a blessing to the unfortunate who have so few blessings—
how their hearts will thrill with satisfaction!
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