Part 3: Have You Taken Space?

Narrator: Chris Genthree
 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 7
As the day of opening draws near, this is an important question to all who wished to have a place in the world’s great show. If space be not taken before the appointed day, it will be too late for the anxious manufacturer to have a place in the world’s great fair to show his wares. And if your space is not secured in the heavenly mansions above, is there not an appointed hour when it will be too late? On what ground can you, my reader, have the certainty that a place is prepared for you in that city whose builder and maker is God? As the officials mark out the space for each and write the name, so it is most important that your name be written in heaven. Can you rejoice that your name is written in heaven? It will not do to say I have fasted and prayed—or I have done penance and repented. The word of God nowhere tells us that these are the price of a place in the city of pure gold—the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God. It is quite true that those who have a mace in the World’s fair on earth cannot polish their goods too brightly; but polishing their goods will not buy a space. So with those who have a place in the heavenly mansion—they cannot be too careful to maintain good works. Yea, the brighter those works the greater the reward, as we shall see in our next; but the price of their redemption is a different matter. Those places prepared in the vast city of God for the redeemed, must have remained forever empty, if the Just had not died for the unjust; naught but His precious blood could bring us there, dollars could not buy space there. Oh! who but God can count the price? who but God can tell what Christ suffered for sins? Fearful as was His suffering through the cruel treatment of men – the spitting—the buffeting—the scourging—the nailing—the shame—the derision—yet, these He could bear in silence! But, oh! when the full wrath of God due to sins fell upon Him, then He cried out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It was this, the darkness and wrath that fell upon His forsaken soul for sins not His own, this alone was the price of each place in the holy courts of God. Yes, “once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” (Heb. 9:2626For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26)). This precious blood not only secures thy place child of God, but fits thee for it. There is but one price to secure a place in the heavenly city for the lost sinner. It is the blood of Christ.