The departure for such a purpose necessarily involved the return again.
Both are stages in the process, which is perfected by complete
union—'That where I am there ye may be also.'
Christ, as I have been saying, is Heaven. His presence is all that we
need for peace, for joy, for purity, for rest, for love, for growth. To
be 'with Him,' as He tells us in another part of these wonderful last
words in the upper chamber, is to 'behold His glory.' And to behold His
glory, as John tells us in his Epistle, is to be like Him. So Christ's
presence means the communication to us of all the lustre of His
radiance, of all the whiteness of His purity, of all the depth of His
blessedness, and of a share in His wondrous dominion. His glorified
manhood will pass into ours, and they that are with Him where He is
will rest as in the centre and home of their spirits, and find Him
all-sufficient. His presence is my Heaven.
That is almost all we know. Oh! it is more than all we need to know.
The curtain is the picture. It is because what is there transcends in
glory all our present experience that Scripture can only hint at it and
describe it by negations—such as 'no night,' 'no sorrow,' 'no tears,'
'former things passed away'; and by symbols of glory and lustre
gathered from all that is loftiest and noblest in human buildings and
society. But all these are but secondary and poor. The living heart of
the hope, and the lambent centre of the brightness, is, 'So shall we
ever be with the Lord.'
And it is enough. It is enough to make the bond of union between us in
the outer court and them in the holy place. Parted friends will fix to
look at the same star at the same moment of the night and feel some
union; and if we from amidst the clouds of earth, and they from amidst
the pure radiance of their heaven, turn our eyes to the same Christ, we
are not far apart. If He be the companion of each of us, He reaches a
hand to each, and, clasping it, the parted ones are united; and
'whether we wake or sleep we live _together_,' because we both live
with Him.
Brother! Is Jesus Christ so much to you that a heaven which consists in
nearness and likeness to Him has any attraction for you? Let Him be
your Saviour, your Sacrifice, your Helper, your Companion. Obey Him as
your King, love Him as your Friend, trust Him as your All. And be sure
that then the darkness will be but the shadow of His hand, and instead
of dreading death as that which separates you from life and love and
action and joy, you will be able to meet it peacefully, as that which
rends the thin veil, and unites you with Him who is the Heaven of
heavens.
He has gone to prepare a place for us. And if we will let Him, He will
prepare us for the place, and then come and lead us thither. 'Thou wilt
show me the path of life' which leads through death. 'In Thy presence
is fullness of joy, and at Thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore.'