October 2

Morning

The hope which is laid up for you in heaven. — Col 1:5

Our hope in Christ for the future, is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here on earth. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here on earth—we are weary and toil-worn; but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labor shall no more bedew the worker’s brow, and fatigue shall be forever banished.

To those who are weary and woe-worn, the word “rest” is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without—that we have little or no peace! But in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be forever sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

We have suffered bereavement after bereavement but we are going to the land of the immortal, where graves are unknown things. Here on earth, sin is a constant grief to us but there we shall be perfectly holy, for nothing which defiles shall enter into that kingdom! Hemlock does not spring up in the furrows of celestial fields.

Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in a state of banishment forever—that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness but shall soon inherit everlasting glory!

Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present. Let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue! It is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him—goes about his work with vigor, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardor, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labor without present reward, “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come!” Hebrews 13:14

Evening

A man greatly beloved. — Dan 10:11

Child of God, do you hesitate to appropriate this title? Ah! has your unbelief made you forget that you are greatly loved by God also? Must you not have been greatly loved to have been bought with the precious blood of Christ? When God smote His only begotten Son for you—what was this but being greatly loved by Him? You lived in sin, and rioted in it—must you not have been greatly loved for God to have borne so patiently with you? You were called by grace and led to a Savior, and made a child of God and an heir of heaven! All this proves, does it not—a very great and super-abounding love?

Since that time, whether your path has been rough with troubles, or smooth with mercies—it has been full of proofs that you are greatly loved by God. If the Lord has chastened you—yet it was not in anger. If He has made you poor—yet in grace you have been rich. The more unworthy you feel yourself to be—the more evidence you have—that nothing but unspeakable divine love—could have led the Lord Jesus to save such a soul as yours! The more demerit you feel—the clearer is the display of the abounding love of God, in having chosen you, and called you, and made you an heir of bliss!

Now, if there is such great love from God to us—let us live in the influence and sweetness of it, and use the privilege of our exalted position as God’s children. Do not let us approach our Lord as though we were strangers, or as though He were unwilling to hear us—for we are greatly loved by our loving Father!

“He who spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Come boldly, O believer, for despite the whisperings of Satan and the doubtings of your own heart—you are greatly loved! Meditate on the exceeding greatness and faithfulness of divine love today and so go to your bed in peace.