Beyond The Sunset

But just think of stepping on shore and finding it Heaven!

Of touching a hand and finding it God's!

Of breathing new air and finding it celestial!

Of waking up in Glory, and find it home.

 

                                                         L. E. Singer

 

What does the word "home" mean to you?  To me it immediately conjures feelings of

safety and belonging, and brings to my mind pictures of family and joyous times.  It

brings the feeling of belonging to someplace and to someone. 

 

This world is not our home.  We as believers are traveling, on a long journey home.

We've never seen our final destination, but we know it is the home that we are longing

for.  Many of us already have family and friends who have arrived home;  who are

with our Father.  They have finished their long and often times difficult trip.  But the

rest of us are still trudging through this wilderness of sin, longing to be home.

 

There is a wonderful feeling to walk through the door of home at the end of a long day

of work, to know the toil and stress of the day is over and you can now rest.  That is the

promise of our Heavenly home...the day will be over and we can enter into the promised

rest.

 

Many people fear death.  That's because they have no hope on the other side.  There is

no happy home prepared for them, no Heavenly Father to greet them at the end of

life's difficult road.  But for the believer we have a wonderful future beyond the grave!

 

Philippians 2:21  "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

 

This was my dad's favorite verse.  But just what does it mean?  Someone who is truly

committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, will have his/her life totally wrapped up in Him,

their life will be Christ!  Someone who is surrendered thus to God will have the

knowledge that to die is to gain so much more.  They will gain their heavenly home,

the presence of their Heavenly Father forever, a new sinless body, they will never again

know pain, sadness, corruption. 

 

Sometimes the journey seems to be too difficult, we stumble, lose our way, fear that we

will never make it.  It is during these darkest miles of the journey that we need to remember

that we do not walk alone, we have a guide who is ever at our side.  It's easy to see Him

when the way is clear and bright, but when the clouds obscure His lovely face, and the

storms of doubt, fear, dismay and danger swirl about us, He is still there.  Still there,

guiding our weary feet, whispering words of encouragement and holding our hands.

This is a beautiful poem written by Mary Stevenson, it's one of my favorites.

 

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

Other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed,

That during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish,

Sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord, that if I followed You, You would walk with me always.

But I've noticed that during the most trying periods of my life,

There have only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed You most, You have not been there for me?"

 

The Lord replies,

"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints,

Is when I carried you."

 

We are carried by our wonderful Savior more then we know.  The Apostle Paul knew what

it was like to be carried by his Lord through hard times. In Acts 27 we find the Paul in the

midst of a terrible storm on the sea.  After many days of being in the terrific gale, they feared

for their lives.

 

Acts 27:20  "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small

tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away."

 

How many times in the midst of the storms of our lives to we have all hope taken away.

We cannot see through the storm, we have no idea how to solve the problem.  The way

before is bleak with no hope.  This is a bad place to be in.  I've been here, quite a few

times.  But I'm learning something...the God that permits the storms, will bring you

through the storms.  Its hard to remember this at the time, but its so very true!

 

Acts 27:43 & 44  "But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their

purpose;  and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves

first into the sea, and get to land;  and the rest, some on boards, and some on

broken pieces of the ship.  And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to

land."

 

God brought them through that storm.  He can bring us through our storms.  We

need to trust Him, He knows what He is doing.  Paul had a very difficult and danger
filled path to traverse, but he remained faithful to his Lord and Savior throughout
it all and was able to declare in 2 Timothy 4:6 - 8  "For I am now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  Henceforth there is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give
me at that day:  and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His
appearing."  What a wonderful testimony!  Can we say this?  Have we fought a
good fight, finished our course, kept the faith?  I'm ashamed to say that I haven't
always fought the good fight, kept the faith...but I'm still striving to finish my
course victoriously. 

We tend to forget that we don't have to do this alone!  Paul had learned that fighting
the good fight was allowing the Lord to have His way, leaning on His strength and
trusting in His will.  We can do nothing in our own strength, when we try, we end up
failing miserably. 

Heaven was real to Paul, he had a goal, a home to reach. 

Philippians 3:13 & 14  "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:  but
this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Do we have this same zeal in our journey?  Are we keeping the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus before our eyes?  We need to keep pressing onward,
we have a home waiting for us in Glory, where we will be able to finally rest from
the long battle.  Night will end and we will forever be home.

Beyond the sunset, O blissful morning,

When with our Savior Heav'n is begun;

Earth's toiling ended, O glorious dawning,

Beyond the sunset, when day is done.

 

Beyond the sunset, no clouds will gather,

No storms will threaten, no fears annoy;

O day of gladness, O day unending,

Beyond the sunset, eternal joy!

 

Beyond the sunset, O glad reunion,

With our dear loved ones who've gone before;

In that fair homeland we'll know no parting,

Beyond the sunset, forever more!

 

                                     Virgil P. Brock