The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-09-07
shining all the kings and queens of
eternity.
THE FAMILY REUNION.

eternity.
THE FAMILY REUNION.
A family mansion means reunion.
Some of your families are very. much
scattered. The children married and
went off TO St Louis or Chicago or
Charleston. But perhaps once a. year
you come together at the old place.
How you wake up the old piano that
has been silent for years. Father and
mother do not play on it How you
bring out the old relics and rummage
the garnet and open old scrapbooks
and shout and laugh and cry and talk
over old times and, though you may be
40 years of age. act as though You were
Is. Yet o o il is goodby at the a
window and goodby at the steamboat
wharf. But how will We act at the re-
union in the old family mansion of
heaven? 1t is a good while since you
parted al the door of the grave. There
Will be Grace n Mary and Martha
and Charlie and Lizzie and all tn dar-
lings of your household, not pale and
sick and gasping for breath, as when
you saw them last, but their eye bright
with the luSter of heaven and their
cheek roseate with the flush of celestial
summer
What clasping Of hands, What en-
bracing, What coming together of lip
to lip. What tears of joy. You say.
Il thought there were no tears in heav-
en-" There must be, for the Bible says
tina God shall wipe them away" and
if there were no tears there how could
he wipe them away? They cannot be
tears of grief or tears OF d4Sappoint-
ment- They must be tears of glad
ness. Christ will come n say: What,
child of heaven, is it too much for thee?
Dost thou break down under the glad
ness Of this reunion? Then / will help
thee" And with his one arm around
us and the other arm around our loved
one he shall hold us up in the eternal
jubilee.
While 1 speak some of you with
broken hearts can hardly hold your
peace. You feel as if you would speak
out and say: oh, blessed day, speed
on, Toward thee l press with blister
ed feet over the desert way. My eyes
fail for their weeping. / faint from
listening for feet that will not come
and the sound of voices a will not
speak. Speed on, oh day of reunion!
And then, Lord Jesus, be not angry
with me if after l have kissed thy
blessed feet 1 turn around to gather
up the long lost treasures of my heart.
Oh, be not angry with me. One look
at thee were heaven. But all these re-
unions are heaven encircling heaven,
heaven overlapping heaven, heaven
comminSiing with heaven"
L was dI MOUNT vernon anu went
into the dining room in which our
first president entertained the promi-
lent men of this and other lands. 1t
was a very interesting spot. But oh,
the banqueting hall of the family
mansion of which I speak! Spread
the table, spread it wide, for a great
multitude are to sit at it. From the
Tree by the river gather the II man
ner of fruits for that table. Take the
clusters from the heavenly vineyards
and press them into the golden tank
ards for that table. On baskets carry
in the bread of which if a man e. he
shall never hunger. Take all the shot
torn flags of earthly conquest and in
Irvine them among the arches. Let
David come with his harp and Ga
briel with his trumpet and Miriam with
the timbrel, for the prodigals are at
home, and h captives are free, and
the Father hath invited the mighty
of heaven and the redeemed Of earth
to come and dine!
Copyright, 1900, by Louis Klopsch.)