October 9 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"...in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began..." (Titus 1:2).

Devotional

Look upon all our Lord's covenant dealings with you as but preparatory for your approaching emancipation from all sin, suffering, and sorrow. Welcome your trials; they are sent by your Father. Welcome the stroke of his rod; it is your Father smiting. Welcome whatever detaches you from earth and wings your spirit heavenward. Welcome the furnace that consumes the dross and the tin, and brings out the precious gold and silver, to reflect in your soul, even now, the dawnings of future glory. Oh! be submissive, meek, and quiet under God's chastening and afflicting hand, and receive all his dispensations as only tending to fit you more perfectly for "the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12).

Let this hope of eternal life cheer and comfort the bereaved of the Lord, from whose hearts have fled the loved and sanctified ones of earth, to the eternal heaven. Oh! how full of consolation is this prospect! Where have the departed fled, who sleep in Jesus? They have only exchanged the region of darkness and shadow for the regions of light and glory. They have gone from the scene of impurity, defilement, and sin, to the place of perfect holiness, complete sanctification, and eternal love. Then dry your tears. Press the consolations of the gospel to your sorrowing heart. Look up with that eye of faith that pierces and penetrates the dark clouds that intervene between them and you. And behold them now as those who "share in the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12).

And oh! yourselves anticipate the blessed moment when the Savior will send, not an enemy, but a friend—for such is death to the redeemed child of God—to open the cage that imprisons your spirit, and let you escape to the abodes of eternal glory. Oh! anticipate and, by anticipating, be preparing, day by day, for its realization. Anticipate the happy moment which releases you from the body of sin and death, and ushers you into the full enjoyment of eternal life. Such is heaven, and such is the consummation of the inner life. As that life descended from God so to God it will ultimately and finally return. It will never, never die. Not a spark will be quenched, nor will a pulse cease to beat. Not a thought that it has conceived, nor a desire it has cherished, nor a prayer it has breathed, nor a work it has accomplished, nor a victory it has won, will die. All, all will survive in ever-growing, ever-enduring glory.

The babe in grace will be there! The young man, strong in overcoming the wicked one, will be there! The father, matured in experience, and laden with the golden fruits of age, will be there! All, all will reach heaven at last, the end and the consummation of the life of God in their souls. Oh, to have this heaven in our hearts now! Heaven is love, the place of love, the perfection of love. And what is God's love in our hearts but the foretaste of heaven—the foretaste of heaven, the first gatherings of the vintage, the pledge and earnest of all that is to come?

By the sea of crystal, saints in glory stand,
myriads in number, drawn from every land,
robed in white apparel, washed in Jesus' blood,
they now reign in heaven with the Lamb of God.

(William Kuipers, 1932)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2011.