Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-12-12

welcome you.
Children Ia Heaven
An empty cradle signifies that heaven
Is to be a place filled with children.
This heading is entirely distinct from
that which we have discussod-uamely,
that our children who die Immediately
go into glory. II is distinct. because
many people. even some good profess
ing Christians. seem 10 have n very
hazy and bewildered idea OF heaven.
They think heaven is to be a kind OF a
tenement house district or they sup
pose IL to be q place where everybody
goes through q kind OF metamorphosis
and becomes so changed In looks and
speech In q little while that his very
best friends would not know him IL
| they should meet him when walking
ON one of the golden boulevards near to
the beautiful gate. But, thank God,
we will know our loved ones In heaven.
Moses and Elias. after having spent
thousand years In heaven, talked upon
the Mount OF TRANSPORTATION just the
same as they talked TO their friends
when upon earth. We shall know
Jesus in heaven by the scars upon his
resurrected body which he received
upon the cross in his earthly body. l
believe our redeemed friends are to be
just the same in heaven. in one sense.
as they were when upon earth. be-
iieve they are just the same. except
that In the heavenly land they have no
| pain, no sickness, no sin, no parting, no
death, no tears.
| IL there are no children In heaven,
why did st. John I'm the apocalypse
cry out IN rapture. "And I saw the
dead. small ana great, stand before
Godv' Some of the most reliable of
commentators have translated that pas
sage. "And saw the Infants and adults
stand before God" II there are no
children In heaven. why did Jesus say
that I'm my Fathers house are many
mansions" or many homes? Did you
ever see a place where there was col
lection Of many homes and no children?
Heaven must be full OF little ones. I
once heard OF thief who was trying
to escape from the officers Of the law
by running through public school
yard. But the little children crowded
around him and got under his feet and
trlpped him up until he was captured.
So. believe. some OF Us will have hard
work to set into heaven Why! OR
departed and redeemed children, with
their hosts OF little friends, will come
| down to the pearly gates to greet Us
| They will crowd about us In such num-
bers that we will have hard work TO
press toward the white throne. We
| shall greet them as children. We will
kiss the same lips and run our fingers
through the same curls; we shall there
have celestial nursery; we shall also
have a fragrant playground in which
our little lambs can frisk and frolic, in
which our little departed children can
gather for us the wild flowers and gar
land our white robes with the red roses
Of Sharon and with the lilies Of the val
ley, blooming upon the banks OF the
river Of Life.
Gods Favorites.
An empty cradle signifies that God
has bis favorites, II 1 might reverently
use that term. oh. that had more
time in which to develop this inspiring
and tremendous thought BY his favor
| ties l mean this: God has selected our
| redeemed children out OF all the hui
man race as the ones he wishes to save
from suffering, as the ones who by his
tender love are TO win all the joys of
heaven without any of the tears Of
Gethsemane.
Perhaps / can illustrate this idea In a
very simple way. Surprising you were
a man OF great wealth. AS you go up
and down the world your heart aches
for the little bootblacks and newsboys
| whom you meet in the street and who
seemingly have no show In life. You
were once waif OF the street, and you
know what their temptations and strug-
giles are. You endow a great institution,
| where these boys can have educa tional
| advantages and the comforts of a
home. You cannot send all the boys
there, because you have not money
enough, but you can send some. SO you
go up and down the large cities, select
ing here and there the brightest boys
you can find. They are your favored
bootblacks. You select the brightest.
the most promising and the most man.
ly. Well, In the same way / think God
has his favorites, and they are children
who are dead and translated. When
Christ thinks OF all the temptations he
had to meet on earth and all the sor-
rows he endured. he resolves to relieve
many OF the burdens. and he takes
away chiefly those OF whom he said,
"Of such are the kingdom OF heaven"
So Christ comes into the world, and he
selects the best and brightest OF our
children. Have you not noticed that
the handsomest and the best boys and
girls are, as rule, the first to be called
away7 Well, Christ comes In and takes
our best and purest and lifts them up
into his arms and says, "Ah, this lamb
hos too frail and beautiful soul to be
subjected to. the buffetings OF this
world" Thus Christ took for awhile
some OF our little ones out OF our sight
All. my dear friends. are you not glad
that your dead babies are among Gods
favoritesf Are you not glad that they
do not have to suffer as you have to
suffer and weep as you weep, stumble
over the open graves as you stumble
sin as perhaps you have sinned7 Are
you not thankful that your little chill
dron In heaven are to be numbered
among Gods specially honored ones?
Thus my text today has a most prac-
teal and inspiringly helpful message
for all mon and women who have ga.
cred little graves In their family plots
want you all to set your faces toward
the heavenly land. where your beloved
children are waiting for you. I want
you truly to feel that Jesus. the Good
Shepherd. has lifted the little lambs
into his arms and Is carrying them In
his bosom. Remember. the. parting
will not be long. Believe me, II you
have faith In Jesus Christ the reunion
VIII surely come. And so I Will close
this sermon with the sweet consola ton
little Philadelphia girl once gave
to her aged grandmother, Mrs. VILLA 10
Harper. the widow Of the noted pastsr
OF the Broad Street Presbyterian
church One day. sitting at the feet of
her grandmother. this little girl looked
uU and soid. s.Gropdmamma 40 vor,