Suffering Saints and a Glorious Homecoming

Christians will one day meet again with lost loved ones:

Two basic truths the believer can count on are these: in this life we will suffer, and in the next life we will be free of that and will forever be exalting in our Lord. I want to look at these realities by appealing to two great men of God: Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), and Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). And I want to draw upon two books which both came out in 2007.

In The Suffering Letters of C. H. Spurgeon annotated by Hannah Wyncoll (Wakeman Trust) we find much of value from the “Prince of Preachers” who suffered so much. Many letters not published before are found in this helpful work. In it we are reminded of just what Spurgeon went through in his exceedingly busy and productive life:

For thirteen years up to 1867 C. H. Spurgeon was able to exert himself fully in all the many ministries built up under the auspices of the Tabernacle. But in October of that year he suffered his first serious episode of illness, and for the next 24 years sustained regular bouts of vomiting, fever and considerable pain, with swelling and rheumatic pain in his limbs, and also extreme mental exhaustion. His work output in the light of such ill health was truly amazing….

 

Spurgeon’s literary work was immense. He compiled more than 140 books, maintained the monthly The Sword and the Trowel magazine (from 1865), and edited the weekly sermon (The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit) which enjoyed a considerable distribution. Amazingly, he responded to an average of 500 letters each week.

 

Spurgeon started visiting the south of France from 1871 for a few weeks during the winter to alleviate the pain of his condition. Once there, however, he did not stop his work. He would conduct morning prayers, sometimes with up to 60 people attending. He continued to edit the weekly sermon and The Sword and the Trowel magazine as well as continuing to work on many books, such as the seven-volume set (originally) The Treasury of David. He also preached, when well enough at local churches. (pp. 9-11)

Amazing indeed. Let me quote from just one of his letters. This one is from late in 1890, just a few years before his death. He wrote, in part:

Let us always seek sanctification through affliction rather than escape from it. I have no question that there is great wisdom in the Lord’s laying aside his instruments. It is for his own glory, for thereby he shows that he is not in need of them; and it is for their humbling, for hereby they learn how deep is their need of him. The uninterrupted reception of blessing through one channel might breed in our foolish hearts an idolatrous confidence in the means and therefore there comes a break in the use of that means, that the Lord may be the more tenderly remembered. We may be sure that, if the Lord dries up a cistern, it is because he would have us fly to the fountain of inexhaustible strength.

 

I desire to rejoice that, in all these thirty-six years, with sicknesses so frequently upon me, I have never been compelled to drop either the weekly sermon or the monthly magazine. There has either been an interval of power, or I have been a little forward with the work when the stroke has laid me aside. May I not say “Hitherto hath the Lord helped me”? Having received help of God, I continue unto this day, and I shall abide in my calling so long as there is work for me to do for my Lord. (p. 71)

It is the reality of heaven that all suffering saints look forward to. In this matter I will quote from Sam Storms and his very helpful book, Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections (Crossway). In his chapter on heaven, he said this about Edwards:

Perhaps Edwards’ greatest insight into the glory of heaven is that “this enjoyment, these sweet exercises, will never cease, but will last to all eternity.” But more than that, they will actually increase and intensify and expand! Whatever joy we experience in heaven will forever grow. Whatever pleasures we feel in heaven will forever deepen. We will never fully and finally arrive, as if once we have tasted such sweet delights we will have exhausted their capacity to satisfy our souls. It will only get better, forever. It will only taste sweeter, forever. It will only appear more beautiful, forever. With each joyful encounter we will have only touched a small measure of an even greater, perpetual, infinite and eternal increase!

 

What this means, quite simply, yet profoundly, is that glorification never ends! There is an instantaneous dimension to glorification, insofar as we will in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, be changed from corruptible to incorruptible. Mortality will be forever swallowed up in immortality. Weakness will give way to strength, disease to eternal healing, weariness to everlasting energy! So, too, will our souls experience this irreversible renewal. No longer will we feel the propensity to sin. Never again must we fight and struggle to resist the promptings of the flesh. For never so much as a nanosecond in the ages to come will God’s people ever feel the force or magnetic appeal of a temptation to lust or greed or envy or pride or unbelief.

 

But glorification is more than irreversible. Yes, it is certainly that, insofar as we will never revert to our former ways. The energy of unbelief and anger and immorality will have been instantly and irreversibly banished, having given way to a body, soul, and spirit that are conformed to that of Jesus himself. But this is not to say that the perfection we will then experience will be incapable of expansion and intensification.

 

To suggest that at the time of our glorification we will know all that can be known of God, or that our enjoyment of him will at some point reach a pinnacle or point of termination, is to misunderstand both God’s nature and ours. That is to say, one would have to conclude that God is finite. To say that our knowledge and enjoyment of God are subject to measure, or that they can reach a point beyond which there is neither anything more to be known of him nor anything in him capable of eliciting more enjoyment, is to say that God is calculable rather than incalculable, that he is fathomable rather than unfathomable. To say such things is to place quantifiable boundaries around his being or to predicate limitations to his nature….

 

So, each fresh insight into the personality of God is necessarily accompanied by fresh joy and delight, always greater and more intense than any and all joy previously experienced. As God reveals yet more and more of his nature and ways throughout the course of eternity, our minds are, correspondingly, ever more filled, our hearts are, correspondingly, ever more overwhelmed. With each new disclosure of splendor, with each new revelation of beauty, our enjoyment of him deepens and our gratitude grows and our delight deepens.

 

No wonder that Edwards found strength and drew comfort in meditating on the glory of heaven to come! Can we do any less? (pp. 180-182)

Tying it all together

There is a heavenly homecoming ahead for us believers. All the suffering and hardships that we have gone through in this life will seem like nothing compared to the glories of heaven and being once again with those that we love – including of course our Lord. We will indeed be with him and others for eternity. That is terrific news – especially in a time of war.

Recall the old song We’ll Meet Again. It was released by English singer Vera Lynn in 1939 as trouble was brewing across the Channel. She sang it to young men (many just boys, really) as they went overseas to fight for Europe’s freedom. She was known as the “Forces’ Sweetheart” as she continued to entertain the troops in various places around the globe during the war.

Of course many of these young men never did come home. But those brave soldiers who knew Christ will have a grand and glorious homecoming. They will see loved ones and family members. And so will we. I will see my wife for example. So many wonderful reunions will occur then. The lyrics to this song are these:

Let’s say goodbye with a smile dear
Just for a while dear, we must part
Don’t let this parting upset you
I’ll not forget you, sweetheart

 

We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when
But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day

 

Keep smiling through, just like you always do
Till the blue skies chase those dark clouds far away

 

And I will just say hello to the folks that you know
Tell them you won’t be long
They’ll be happy to know that as I saw you go
You were singing this song

 

We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when
But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day

 

Keep smiling through, just like you always do
Till the blue skies chase those dark clouds far away

 

And I will just say hello to the folks that you know
Tell them you won’t be long
They’ll be happy to know that as I saw you go
You were singing this song

 

We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when
But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day

You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nzy1cfnKh4  

And here she performs it in front of servicemen and women in 1943: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5C4meGkNyc

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