THE OVERCOMER’S PORTION.
By Geo. Emory
Of all that the Bible contains, there is nothing that impresses us more with a sense of the wonderful goodness of our loving heavenly Father than the numerous promises of reward to “him that shall endure to the end.” This does not necessarily refer to those who have been all their lives “faithful.” God is a Saviour of sinners. He calls many, even at the “eleventh hour,” and many of these are painfully aware that they have accomplished but little in toiling for the Master. But such should not lose sight of the encouraging fact that at the close of the day’s labor, when the Master reckoned with His servants, with amazing grace and kindness, He was willing to bestow as much wages upon those that came in at the “eleventh hour” as upon those who came early, and had “borne the burden and heat of ‘the day.’” In Prov. 16:32 we read: “He that is slow to anger is better than ‘the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’” How abundant indeed, then, must be our Lord’s resources, that He can bestow rewards for ministrations that in themselves even seem trifling. The giving of a cup of cold water, even, in His name, is not unnoticed by Him, and has its reward. So for the overcomer there awaits untold blessings, not only in “the life that now is,” but more especially in “that which is to come.” For the encouragement of those who are called upon daily to battle with self, in warring with those “principalities” and “powers” that wage a continual warfare within, what glorious things are in store for those who gain victories through the precious blood of Jesus. The first reflection, and one which is probably in mind more than any other, is, what about my standing on the record books of heaven, now that by the grace of God this, that, or the other weakness has been put away? Listen to the message from the inspired page: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not ‘blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name ‘before My Father, and before His angels.’ For the sin that you have committed, confessed, and forsaken, your name may have been dropped from the church books; utterance of it may even be withheld and hushed upon the lips of your once dear friends, and some overzealous shepherd may class you among the “missionaries of Satan;” but take heart, dear tempest-tossed soul, whom Satan has desired to have, that he might “sift you as wheat.” If you have surely forsaken the sin that has bound you all these years, the promise of Jesus is that your name is still retained on “the page white and fair” of heaven’s record books. Praise the Lord! This blessing alone is incalculable, but it is only a drop in the bucket, so to speak, in comparison with the many which follow. The overcomer is such a delight to our dear Lord that He is especially anxious that all heaven shall know that the penitent is a member of His kingdom. Therefore He proceeds to make the fact clear to all beholding: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in ‘the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write ‘upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, ‘which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My ‘God; and I will write upon him My new name.” Rev. 3:12. What more authoritative insignia could one desire than this, known, recognized, and honored by every inhabitant of heaven? A greater honor could not be bestowed than for the overcomer to have written upon him the “new name” of our Saviour, before whom all angels bow the knee. Then, that the overcomer may share further in the honors, a beautiful, precious stone, of dazzling whiteness, is presented to him by the Saviour Himself. “And in the stone a new name written, which no ‘man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Now that he has been duly registered upon the heavenly records, gloriously clad in white and shining raiment, adorned with golden bands bearing such honored names, he is given to eat of “the tree of life, which is in the midst of ‘the paradise of God;” and also of the “hidden manna.” The next honor to be conferred is the assignment of the place or position, which has already been prepared and is in waiting. “To him ‘that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I ‘also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” Most wonderful condescension indeed! infinitely beyond all human comprehension, and yet how very like the love of our dear Saviour! So take courage, dear tried souls, who may have nothing to your credit save being an “overcomer.” By these scriptures you may know that the most priceless treasures of heaven await your entrance at the gates of pearl; and by no means the least of these is a shining, glorious crown, which our Saviour has promised to all who await and love His appearing. Is it not written: “And when the chief Shepherd ‘shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away”? It may not have been your lot to work in foreign lands; you may not have led in any great missionary enterprise, or won an imposing army of converts in evangelistic effort; you may not have reared many places of worship in the land; still, if in Jesus’ name you have laid aside the “sin which doth so easily beset” you, and are earnestly striving every day to be a conqueror of all sin, then rest secure, without an anxious care, upon the precious promises to the overcomer, contained in the Word of God, which standeth forever; and in that hope which is an anchor to the soul, you will not be disappointed. Praise His holy name!