Monday, July 14, 2008

When this passing world is done

When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o'er life's finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

When I hear the wicked call
On the rocks and hills to fall,
When I see them start and shrink
On the fiery deluge brink,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

When I stand before the throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see thee as thou art,
Love thee with unsinning heart,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

When the praise of heav'n I hear,
Loud as thunders to the ear,
Loud as many waters' noise,
Sweet as harp's melodious voice,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Saviour's side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.

- Robert Murray M'Cheyne


Providentially enough, a sister and I had been thinking upon this song over the last week, and the two of us sang it together yesterday afternoon. In both of our lives, the Lord has been working on showing us our pride and sin and then showing us the sufficiency of our great Savior.

For both of us, and I am confident for all believers, the anticipation of not sinning is probably one of the things we most look forward to (second only to seeing our Lord Jesus face to face!) I can't imagine what it will be like not to sin! No more pride, no more discontentment, no more faithlessness, no more jealousy.

But today I was pondering another aspect of this truth. I will not only never sin against God Himself, but I will never sin against my brethren! No more putting my own interests above theirs. No more comparing myself with them and thinking I am more spiritual. No more getting on their nerves, or they on mine. No more doubting the Spirit's work in their lives. No more fear of hurting my brethren with unneeded words, and no more hurting them by withholding my words.

It will be a wonderful thing to converse with the Old Testament saints and with the disciples and with people like Luther and Spurgeon and Edwards and Ryle. It will be a sight to see when I stand among the millions of blood-bought children of God, having known and befriended some in my lifetime. But much more do I look forward to standing among the brothers and sisters that I meet with Lord's Day by Lord's Day and prayer meeting by prayer meeting. They are the ones I've cried with, laughed with, rejoiced with, confided with, sung with, prayed with, read Scripture with, heard preaching with, broke bread with, and fellowshipped with. They are also the ones whom I've had disagreements with, who I've sinned against, and who have sinned against me. And to stand there in Heaven, rejoicing that we've made it, that the good fight of faith was not in vain! And I have a feeling that there won't be anything a simple, hearty "I love you [fill in name here]!" won't forgive.

One sister will be telling about how the first thing she ever saw with her eyes was the face of her Savior. Another will be telling about how she no longer has back pain or medication to hinder her worship. Yet another will speak of how she no longer battles depression and how she's never experienced such joy. And there are those who no longer have to deal with the sadness and trials of unconverted spouses or unconverted children or unconverted family members (hopefully we will be rejoicing that they've been converted!). We will also have no more anxiety, no unrighteous anger, no discontentment, no more pride, no temptations to be man-pleasers.

Praise God for the family I call my local church. We are not perfect, but we have a perfect Savior and Shepherd over us! Come quickly, Lord Jesus...


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