'I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,' or, as it
might be read, 'with you all the days, even to the accomplishment of
the age.' Note that emphatic 'I am,' which does not only denote
certainty, but is the speech of Him who is lifted above the lower
regions where Time rolls and the succession of events occurs. That
'I am' covers all the varieties of _was, is, will be_. Notice
the long vista of variously tinted days which opens here. Howsoever
many they be, howsoever different their complexion, days of summer
and days of winter, days of sunshine and days of storm, days of
buoyant youth and days of stagnant, stereotyped old age, days of
apparent failure and days of apparent prosperity, He is with us in
them all. They change, He is 'the same yesterday, and to-day, and
for ever.' Notice the illimitable extent of the promise--'even unto
the end.' We are always tempted to think that long ago the earth was
more full of God than it is to-day, and that away forward in the
future it will again be fuller, but that this moment is comparatively
empty. The heavens touch the earth on the horizon in front and behind,
and they are highest and remotest above us just where we stand. But
no past day had more of Christ in it than to-day has, and that He
has gone away is the condition of His coming. 'He therefore departed
for a season, that we might receive Him for ever.'
But mark that the promise comes after a command, and is contingent,
for all its blessedness and power, upon our obedience to the
prescribed duty. That duty is primarily to make disciples of all
nations, and the discharge of it is so closely connected with the
realisation of the promise that a non-missionary Church never has
much of Christ's presence. But obedience to all the King's commands
is required if we stand before Him, and are to enjoy His smile. If
you wish to keep Christ very near you, and to feel Him with you, the
way to do so is no mere cultivation of religious emotion, or
saturating your mind with religious books and thoughts, though these
have their place; but on the dusty road of life doing His will and
keeping His commandments. 'If a man love Me he will keep My words,
and My Father will love Him. We will come to Him, and make our abode
with Him.'