FOR THE JOY

 

 

“Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.

“And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them……… (Abraham 3:22, 24,25)

We are told we sang together and shouted for joy at the prospect of our eternal progression through the Plan of Salvation (Job 37:7). How easy it is to embrace something so willingly before it becomes a reality.

I think of Enoch witnessing the Father weeping over his disobedient children so early into that reality (Moses 7:28). I have one wayward child and I have wept over her. I cannot imagine the Father’s sorrow over so many of His children. It is true that moral agency is not free. It comes with a price that is not only paid by the sinner but by all those within their heavenly and earthly parental and family circle.

If you have a child that is currently lost, you are in good company. The Father knows your pain. To this end He has sacrificed His son to atone for the sins of our wayward children should they return. Until that day, hold fast onto hope. He will reach out to them some day and endeavour to bring them back. After all, they were His, before they were ours.

I often hope that my efforts of obedience make up, to some degree, for my daughter’s waywardness. I also hope that many of Father’s righteous children will return to Him with honour to cushion the blow of those who will be missing.

We are told obedience is the first principle of heaven. I have a friend who thinks love is greater than obedience but to me, you cannot separate the two. Obedience springs from love and magnifies love. If we love the Father and His Son, we will hold fast onto this principle.

May we strive to be a delight in His hand and a joy to Him forever and may our example reach the hearts of those who are presently lost.  

I pleaded with You, Father,

In the beginning,

To bring me home again to Thee.

I promised to heed every call,

To avoid every danger,

To abhor every sin.

 

I have laboured to bring Thee joy

To be worthy of Your love for me.

I’ll wait at heaven’s door and knock

Until I hear the angels sing. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: For the Joy by Eva Koleva Timothy)