December 8

Where I am, there shall also my servant be. - John 12:26.

AND this is heaven. Now, we understand this by a twofold reference,-by a reference to his divine nature, and by a reference to his human nature. If he referred to his human nature only, he was not there when he spake these words. But his ascension was near. He said, “The hour is come that the Son of man shall be glorified.” It was near; it was certain as if it had already taken place. He therefore viewed it as present, and said, “Where I am, there shall also my servant be.” If he referred to his divine nature, he was already there when he thus spake. He said, therefore, to the Jews, “No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven,” who was actually there then.

There is no inconsistency in this. It is expressive of a grand promise to believers of union and communion with, the Saviour,-a promise of their entering into the same state, place, and enjoyment, and having the same employment too. It is a description of heaven. One essential part of heaven will be the presence of the Saviour, for that indeed constitutes heaven. Our Saviour, therefore, said to the thief, “This day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” And, said the apostle, “Absent from the body and present with the Lord.” It was Paul’s attraction. This made him say, “I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” “Better” than being bound? “Better” than fighting with beasts at Ephesus? “Better” than having the sentence of death passed on himself? Oh, no; that was not his meaning; but it was “far better” than all the service of God below, than all the Sabbaths, than all the sacraments, than all the “communion of saints.” “I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” And does not this imply a state of immediate consciousness? Otherwise, the apostle would have preferred holding intercourse with his Saviour here, being employed in his blessed service,- instructing the ignorant, reclaiming the vicious, and proclaiming his word. Would he not have preferred all this to ages of senselessness in the grave? It is in vain to say that these ages would seem but a moment; for we are not inquiring about how he would feel after the event, but how he would feel in the prospect of it,- and how he would feel if both were presented to him and addressed to his option. Is this an attraction to us? No man will be forced into a heaven which he dislikes, into a heaven which he cannot enjoy; and a holy heaven cannot be enjoyed but by holy persons.

A spiritual heaven can only be enjoyed by spiritual people; a Christian heaven can only be hoped for by those who love Christ, and who place all their happiness in the enjoyment of his presence. Some can say, Christ is precious; he is my salvation and all my desire; it is enough for me to be where he is:-

“I cannot live contented here

Without some glimpses of thy face;

And heaven, without thy presence there,

Would be a dark and tiresome place.”

Our Saviour well knew the disposition of his people, and the estimation in which he was held by them. He well knew what would be congenial with their feelings, and he describes heaven accordingly:-“Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.” If a little enjoyment of his presence in the closet, in the sanctuary, at his table, has induced us to say, “Lord, it is good for us to be here,” what will it be to be “forever with the Lord”? “In his presence there is fulness of joy,” and the enjoyment of it then will be pure, uninterrupted, and eternal.