In the Morning of Joy
“We shall not all sleep, but we shall be raised.” Are there any words more comforting than these? We sing about it, and our hearts are filled with comfort. If there is no resurrection, we are of all men most miserable; our lives have been wasted, and we should have lived our lives by the philosophy of “let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die.” Many have heard the following words and have been blessed every time they sang them.
There is a supreme day of joy coming.
When the trumpet shall sound,
And the dead shall arise,
And the splendors immortal
Shall envelop the skies;
When the Angel of Death
Shall no longer destroy,
And the dead shall awaken
In the morning of joy.
Think of what a great day of joy that will be!
The Joy of Seeing God
The Lord made a remarkable promise in the opening words of the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Obviously, we all shall see the Son of man who, coming in His glory, will separate the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-32). This is true because God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world by the One He raised from the dead (Acts 17:31). We will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). However, the promise of seeing God is reserved for those who are pure in heart. Is it possible that the wicked will never be allowed to see God in all of His majesty?
The Joy of Seeing All the Redeemed
Jesus may have been speaking of the entrance of Gentiles into the kingdom of God when He said, “Many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11), but is there any doubt that all the redeemed will share eternity together? Imagine sitting with those heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter eleven and thousands of other like them. Add to this sitting again with those who shaped our own lives in our journey on this earth.
The Joy of Seeing Jesus
Can you imagine seeing the One who loved us before we ever lived; the One who loved us and gave Himself for us while we were sinners! Perhaps we might see those beautiful marks of love in His hands and in His side. We are His bride, and He awaits our coming.
O the bliss of that morn, in the morning of joy!