-- Revelation 14:1
The apostle John was privileged to look within the gates of heaven, and in describing what he saw, he begins by saying, "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!" This teaches us that the chief object of contemplation in the heavenly state is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." Nothing else attracted the apostle's attention so much as the person of that Divine Being, who hath redeemed us by his blood. He is the theme of the songs of all glorified spirits and holy angels.
Christian, here is joy for thee; thou hast looked, and thou hast seen the Lamb. Through thy tears thine eyes have seen the Lamb of God taking away thy sins. Rejoice, then. In a little while, when thine eyes shall have been wiped from tears, thou wilt see the same Lamb exalted on his throne.
It is the joy of thy heart to hold daily fellowship with Jesus;thou shalt have the same joy to a higher degree in heaven; thou shalt enjoy the constant vision of his presence; thou shalt dwell with him for ever. "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!" Why, that Lamb is heaven itself;for as good Rutherford says, "Heaven and Christ are the same thing;" To be with Christ is to be in heaven, and to be in heaven is to be with Christ. That prisoner of the Lord very sweetly writes in one of his glowing letters-
"O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven without thee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have thee still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the heaven I want."
It is true, is it not, Christian? Does not thy soul say so?
"Not all the harps above
Can make a heavenly place,
If God his residence remove,
Or but conceal his face."
All thou needest to make thee blessed, supremely blessed, is "to be with Christ."
(C.H. Spurgeon)
9 comments:
"O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven without thee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have thee still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the heaven I want."
This is the genuine profession of faith! How many people want to go to heaven but do not want God to be there?
Yes I agree. Many want to escape hell, but if they don't love God, heaven would not be the place for them.
Even as believers we often talk and speculate about what heaven will be like; will we see our loved ones, will our beloved pets be there, will we live in actual houses, etc. But the bottom line is that nothing else matters, except that Jesus be there. That He will be there is promised to us, so we wait, with joy inexpressible.
All true! Thanks for sharing! Love the new look for your blog!
Wendalyn
Andrew Murray says, 'This is the whole of salvation, that God has given us His Son, .. to have, to possess, to enjoy Jesus. That the Father has given us Jesus, to look after us, to care for us."
Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.’ -- 2 Cor. 9:15
‘He that hath the Son hath life.’ -- John 1:12
Some think God has given us doctrines and so much. But no, God has given us His Son.
It would be hell to me if . . . .
Gut-check time. Complete this sentence: "It would be hell to me if . . . ."
Henry Martyn (1781-1812), Anglican missionary, was the guest of a muslim friend for dinner. His host described for him a painting he had seen of Jesus bowing down before Muhammad. Martyn tells us what happened next:
"I was cut to the soul at this blasphemy. Mirza Seid Ali perceived that I was considerably disordered and asked what it was that was so offensive? I told him 'I could not endure existence if Jesus was not glorified; it would be hell to me if He were to be always thus dishonored.' He was astonished and again asked 'Why?' 'If anyone pluck out your eyes,' I replied, 'there is no saying why you feel pain; it is feeling. It is because I am one with Christ that I am thus dreadfully wounded.'"
Quoted in Constance E. Padwick, Henry Martyn: Confessor Of The Faith, page 265.
The ultimate personal motive for evangelism, missions and revival: "I could not endure existence, if the world were to go on trivializing Jesus. It would be hell to me, if the blasphemies obscuring the display of his glory were to succeed in my generation."
Lord, preserve us in this passion.
Good words of wisdom. :)Thanks for sharing this.
Great words by C.H. Spurgeon!
Jesus is not just a person, but all-in-all. He is no more "just a person" than our own mothers are "just persons". His very will binds our molecules together. If He were to suspend His will that binds our molecules together (atomic physics) we would be undone.
Christ is not an object, He is reality itself. If all things created were to cease to exist, He would remain. To make Himself understandable to us, He clothes Himself with flesh, and communicates with us in ways our senses can comprehend, but these acts are condesensions on His part. As Ike wrote, He is not quantitatively different from us, he is qualitatively different.
Wonderful comments. He is all in all. All things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him. In Him all things are held together. Can we ever make 'too much' of Him? Never. And we will have all of eternity to prove it!
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