HOW THE FAMILY OF EARTH SEPARATED FROM THE FAMILY OF HEAVEN.
By B. G. Wilkinson
THERE were now two families. God is a God of truth, and as such He could be the Father only of a family whose every member loved the truth. But the human race, because of the gate opened through the disobedience of man, were placed under the inflowing flood of sin. Tho Adam might repent and return, yet many of his descendants would reject the truth. Therefore it was necessary for God to cease to be the Father of the whole human race. Separated thus from God, men were laid open to the necessity of having a new father. Who would it be? Who actually did assume that position? We are informed in the words which Jesus spoke to the unbelieving Jews: “Ye are of YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, and the lusts of your ‘father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode ‘not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh ‘a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44. There is no truth in the devil because he separated from the truth; and being the first one who separated from the truth, he naturally became the father of all those who, after him, were persuaded by his commanding abilities to separate from the truth. Behold him now as the father of the new family; the father of that part of the human race which lives in sin and disobedience,—the head of the family of earth, while God remains the head of the family of heaven. Unhappy condition of the human race! Must it now be doomed forever to be separated from God? Must it be filled only with the sickening and foul inspirations of its new father? Must it now be left to degenerate in its alienation from God and from truth until it should perish from its very self-corruption?—No. The great heart of God’s love was stirred. The mother may forget her sucking child, but the great Creator can never forget the work of His hands. He so loved the world that immediately He sought means to bring back His prodigal children. This thought is beautifully expressed in the story of David and Absalom. Because of Absalom’s sin, David had banished his son from his presence. One day a woman appeared in the audience-chamber of the king, apparently to present him a petition; but her real motive was to reconcile the father and the son. “And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished. For we must needs die, and are as water spilled on the ground, which can not be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth He devise means, that His banished be not expelled from Him.” 2 Sam. 14:13, 14. Here we see the wonderful love of God. We were banished. That truth can not be denied. We can not sink into an easy security in the belief that sin will pass unpunished, and that we are now acceptable to God. We are not acceptable. Our sin had banished us from His presence. But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God was not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Therefore He devised means, and the plan of redemption was formed. “For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Heb. 2:10. God gave His only-begotten Son a gift to every family. “For unto ‘us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.” That Son, that Child, is given to you and to me, and we can say with the prophet, “Unto us.” But when we accept that Child, He becomes our Leader and our Father. Read the verse further: “And the government shall be upon ‘His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, ‘the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Isa. 9:6. Jesus was given to us to bring us back to the heavenly family. He was given that we should find in Him a Father, and that we by this means could leave the family of Satan. Banished, but not forgotten; expatriated, but re-adopted; the arms of a loving Father are stretched toward His unfortunate sons. Therefore He gave Jesus; and “as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the ‘sons of God.” And when the complete time of probation has been filled up, Jesus will take us before the Father’s throne and say, “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given Me.” But what will become of those who refuse to accept this reconciling gift? The gift of Jesus was the gift of life. By nature man has no life in him. Separate him from God, and he will perish, as does the plant when it no longer receives moisture. Here, again, we behold the mercy of God. If left to themselves, those who have rejected God’s gift would naturally sink into a miserable death. But Jesus, who left the earth on His departure to heaven, has promised to return from heaven. Until that time, He said to His followers, “Ye are the salt of ‘the earth.’” But when He returns, He removes the salt by taking His people to Himself. Then in mercy His flaming glory will cut short the unhappy career of the others. They shall not dwell with the righteous. For as one bad apple is a corrupting offense to a barrel, so is one wicked man to his associates. As men cast out the evil fruit, so will God remove the wicked from existence. This truth the Saviour expressed in His parable of the two strong men: “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are ‘in peace; but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and ‘overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, ‘and divideth his spoils.” Luke 11:21, 22. The strong man here is the devil. Death is his armor, his palace the grave, and mankind his goods. The stronger man is Christ. Therefore, “When a strong man [the devil] armed [with death] keepeth his palace [the grave], ‘his goods [mankind] are in peace; but when a stronger than he [Christ] shall come upon him, he taketh from him all the armor [death] wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoil [mankind].” Happy deliverance! Death has passed upon the whole human race, and all must die. But the great Life-giver will come again. He will call for a division of the spoils; and at the sound of His voice those who sleep in Him will come forth. And then the words of Jesus will come true: “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.” Only one family! The family of earth is reunited with the family of heaven. Those who have stood faithfully for God’s truth shall enter heaven’s gates. They have walked with Christ here below, and they shall walk with Him above. “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” “And there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.” B. G. WILKINSON.