The grandest hope of every child of God has to do with the abiding presence of Christ. It is a hope which transcends this life. It is a hope which cannot be erased by the barrenness of the grave. It is a hope both “sure and steadfast” and completely reliable as an anchor in the storms of life (Heb. 6:19). Concerning our hope in the presence of Christ, Peter Marshall wrote, “Those we love are with the Lord, and the Lord has promised to be with us. If they are with Him and He is with us, they cannot be far away.” That is a comforting thought when death parts us from loved ones in Christ. Several phrases in that quote are worthy of closer consideration.
First, he says, “Those we love are with the Lord….” When the apostle Paul described his own coming death, he did so by referring to it as a departure to be with Christ (Ph. 1:23). When Jesus told the apostles of His second coming, He said, “I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:3). Few thoughts are as glorious as the realization that we will be with Jesus forever.
In the second place, Peter Marshall goes on to say that “the Lord has promised to be with us.” When He ascended into heaven, Jesus left the apostles with the commission to go into all the world with the gospel of Christ. Then, He follows up with a promise, saying, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18-20). How can Christ be seated at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33), and still be with His followers? The only conclusion we can draw is that He is omnipresent. In Romans 8:9, Paul says that “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” Christ is with His people. His Spirit lives in them (Gal. 4:6; Acts 5:32; 2:38).
A third point of interest from the quotation we have cited is found in the comparison we can make between the first two points. If faithful Christians have passed on to be with Christ, and Christ is presently with those who follow Him today; then, there isn’t such a great distance between us and those who have gone on before us. Such is a comforting thought. Similar thoughts are described by the apostle Paul as he tried to comfort the brethren at Thessalonica about brethren who had passed on from this life (1 Th. 4:15-17). There will be a day of glad reunion for all who are in Christ. We enjoy the present hope that Christ is in us and the future hope that we will be with Him. Make sure that such a hope is yours today.
— Glen Elliott–