Mother settled on the couch for her morning break. Little Carla grabbed her dolly and scampered over to join her hoping for a story or just a cozy chat. One thing Carla did love to talk about was the Lord Jesus and His coming. When she was scarcely four years old she had asked Him to wash away all of her sins, and in her fresh young faith she had received and delighted in many of the great promises spoken by our Lord Jesus Himself.
“Mommy,” she asked with wonder in her eyes, “is the Lord Jesus really going to just catch us up to heaven?”
“Why, yes,” Mommy answered. “In John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3) Jesus said, ‘I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.’ Then He told the Apostle Paul to write in 1 Thessalonians chapter four just how He will do it. We know He’ll keep His word as He always has.”
“But, Mommy,” she pursued anxiously, “are you sure that every single one in our family will go up? And...and ... you won’t have to get to be a grandma and die first, will you?”
“Now, honey, one question at a time! Yes, Mommy feels sure that everyone in our family has one by one come to the Lord Jesus, just as you did. They asked Him just as you did to wash their sins away, because only Jesus’ precious blood can do this great work. ‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin’ (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). You don’t need to worry that Mommy will have to get old and die first. We all expect His coming to be very, very soon.”
Satisfied, Carla enjoyed a few more moments of thought. Then with some excitement she exclaimed, “Oh my, Mommy! The Lord Jesus must have BIG hands!”
“Big hands? Yes He does, Carla! Why, one hand is all that He needs, for we read in Deuteronomy 33:33Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. (Deuteronomy 33:3), ‘All His saints are in Thy hand.’ And Jesus said in John 10:2828And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28) that no one could ever pluck one of His children (sheep) out of His hand. So you see, when we’re already in His hand, it would be a sure thing to lift us right up safely to heaven. Just think of His dear hands, Carla.
Always He’ll have those scars from the cruel nails they hammered in them that day when He took our place suffering for our sins. He uses them now, too — lifts them up to God when Satan accuses us of being naughty. Lifting up His hands He says, ‘There is no accusing this one, because he is cleansed by My precious blood.’ "
Are you safe in those BIG, strong hands that can never let you go and will catch you up to heaven some happy day soon?
ML-07/21/1985