By-and-By

   "This age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, in which Jesus cheers us, not by His personal presence, as He shall do by-and-by, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Ghost...." Charles Spurgeon

 I read the above sentence a few days ago, and I was immediately humbled. There are many beautiful messages in these sweet words, but a single prayer was on my heart: "Lord, forgive me for not thinking of the 'by-and-by.'" I should be living in the "by-and-by"; it should be my sole motivation for rising in the morning, pressing on through a difficult day, worshiping in the sunlight...living. The "by-and-by" that promises complete intimacy and communion as we meet Jesus face-to-face! He can't wait. He so longs for us to be with Him, to be assured of His love and glorifying His Name, that He gave us the Holy Spirit "as a guarantee" until that day (2 Cor 5:5). What an indescribable gift.
 I felt convicted: I haven't been living each day with the hope of seeing Jesus! I don't let entering eternity drive me through the mundane, every-day tasks. Why? We are to live as if "now is the favorable time" as if "now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor 6:2). My love for Jesus, my worship of His glory, should stir me in such a way that annoyances, obstacles, difficulties, and tragedies would only cause me to fall more in love with Him. A love that is being sanctified in a longing for the heavenlies.
 In the "by-and-by" we confront Jesus. We enter a place that will cause us to worship on our knees for a thousand years. In entering eternity, all the hardship of the world will melt away, and we will consider only one thing of our short life-time: the moments we spent with Jesus.
 In preparation for that day, let us live in the "by-and-by."