but not when, that we might never

put off our clothes, or put out the

candle”. It is enough consolation and

basis for hopeful living for the

Christian to know that the ascension

of Christ is not the end of His

physical fellowship with His people

on earth. This He promised and His

promise cannot fail.

Christ had been telling His

disciples that He was about to leave

the world. They were admittedly ignorant of many things the Lord

would want to pass across to them, hence His promise to them of

the Holy Ghost Who would guide them into all truth. However,

Christ did not leave them in doubt as to what they would experience

in the hands of a hostile world. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That

ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall

be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy,” He said to

them, alluding primarily to His impending death on the cross, the

mockery of the Jews and His resurrection. More comforting was His

assurance that He would see them again.

Yes, Christ did see His disciples when He resurrected. But a more

significant fulfillment of this promise will come when He shall return

to take away His own from this present world. This hope has served

as a light house to millions of Christians down the centuries gone by

as they navigated the murky waters of this sin-soaked, God-rejecting

world. Whether He meets us alive or we are to be awakened by the

sound of the trumpet heralding His coming, we must rejoice in the

prospect of meeting Him again. At His coming, our troubles and

earthly sufferings will be over and forgotten.

As the signs of Christ’s coming manifest before us, it is good to

assess our readiness for Him. Are you clad in the robe of

righteousness, washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will you be glad if

He should come today? Make sure you are ready and waiting as His

coming gets nearer and nearer.