Make yourselves as agreeable and helpful to each other as possible,
remembering that soon you part. The few years of boyhood and girlhood
will soon slip by, and you will go out to homes of your own, and into
the battle with the world and amid ever-changing vicissitudes, and on
paths crossed with graves, and up steps hard to climb, and through
shadowy ravines. But oh, my God and Saviour, may the terminus of the
journey be the same as the start, namely, at father's and mother's
knee, if they have inherited the kingdom! Then, as in boyhood and
girlhood days, we rushed in after the day's absence with much to tell
of exciting adventure, and father and mother enjoyed the recital as
much as we who made it, so we shall on the hillside of heaven rehearse
to them all the scenes of our earthly expedition, and they shall
welcome us home, as we say: "Father and mother, we have come, and
brought our children with us." The old revival hymn described it with
glorious repetition:
"Brothers and sisters there will meet,
Brothers and sisters there will meet,
Brothers and sisters there will meet,
Will meet to part no more."
I read of a child in the country who was detained at a neighbor's
house on a stormy night by some fascinating stories that were being
told him, and then looked out and saw it was so dark he did not dare
go home. The incident impressed me the more because in my childhood I
had much, the same experience. The boy asked his comrades to go with
him, but they dared not. It got later and later--seven o'clock, eight
o'clock, nine o'clock. "Oh," he said, "I wish I were home!" As he
opened the door the last time a blinding flash of the storm and a
deafening roar overcame him. But after a while he saw in the distance
a lantern, and lo! his brother was coming to fetch him home, and the
lad stepped out and with swift feet hastened on to his brother who
took him home, where they were so glad to greet him, and for a long
time supper had been waiting. So may it be when the night of death
comes and our earthly friends cannot go with us, and we dare not go
alone; may our Brother, our Elder Brother, our Friend closer than a
brother, come out to meet us with the light of the promises, which
shall be a lantern to our feet, and then we will go in to join our
loved ones waiting for us, supper all ready, the marriage supper of
the Lamb!