The Knowledge of Friends after the Judgment.
By C. M. Willis
It seems to be a great query with some whether we shall know our friends after the resurrection, or not. I think that when we view the subject in a candid light, reason teaches us that we shall. We believe that the future state is a state of happiness to the believer. Not only a state of happiness, but a state of perfect happiness. Now if this be so, nothing can possibly be withheld by God that would add to that happiness. Now what could give greater pleasure, next to the thought that we were free from sorrow and sin, and could be permitted to gaze on the loveliness of our Redeemer, than that we could enjoy the society of friends long unseen in the silent grave.71Let every mother who has seen her child pass down the dark vale of death, ask herself if her bliss would not be greatly enhanced, could she but once more clasp her child to her bosom, and feel that there was no more dread of death, no more watching through dark days and dreary nights, in agonized suspense by their beds of pain, to see hopes blasted by the hand of death; and moreover to feel no more anxiety for their future conduct or welfare. No, all uncertainties have passed away, and with a heart overflowing with joy and gratitude, she can cast herself before the dazzling throne, and shout forth her praises to God and his dear Son that it is so. And so with reference to other friends, a parent, a companion, a brother or sister, or even those to whom we hold no nearer relation than as children of God. What bliss to take them by the hand and shout our sufferings o'er! Surely it is a prize worth striving for. But some will ask you, if we know our friends, how can we enjoy the glories of the blest, while they are suffering endless misery? Well, if I believed that my friends were subjects to eternal misery, I could not. But that terrible belief has passed away before the light of present truth; and I now believe that God is love, and that love as well as justice will be exhibited by the total destruction of those who will not come to him that they might have life; and we shall realize his justice so forcibly as to be constrained to say with Eli of old, "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." But let us view the subject in another light. The affections we have for our friends seems of an entirely different nature from our love of any other earthly object. No time or distance can entirely efface them from our minds. The love of brutes for their young ceases with their care; but not so with ours. It grows and strengthens with years. It seems almost divine in its nature. We may lose our earthly wealth, fame, or homes, and the heart will grow reconciled or forgetful; but let us part with a friend by absence or death, and though years may pass away, there will be times when memory will recall them as fresh as though we saw them yesterday; and though we strive very hard to school our hearts to be reconciled, regrets will oftentimes arise. If our affections are not to survive death, why are these things so. If they are not, then we should treat our friends as we do all other earthly objects, try to wean ourselves from them as much as possible. But I believe that God has willed it otherwise, and I thank him for it. I cannot think that he would bestow our friends and children upon us until affection for them becomes almost a part of our being, and then remove them, and leave our hearts aching and quivering with pain; and then will, that the few short days that we enjoyed their society here should be all we ever know of them. No, the love we had for them was pure, and with the pure it will live. God's word teaches that we shall know as we are known; and also that we shall come from the east and from the west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in our Father's kingdom. Then it appears we shall know that it is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But how shall we know them? I believe it will be by revelation, the same as Peter and John knew Moses and Elias on the mount. We have no record that Peter had been told who they were, and yet we hear him calling them by name. Strange thought! Shall we see those who lived in the first ages of the world, and hear from them of events that transpired at the creation; hear Noah describe the flood; and hear good old Daniel tell his sensations while seated among lions? And yet the thought is not so strange as it is to think that through the merits of God's dear Son we can be permitted to participate in the joys of that blood-washed throng, and bask in the glories of the finally faithful. Then let us look beyond these troublesome times, and with an eye of faith view the celestial city prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Let us feel that though we are called to endure the perils of the last days to gain a crown of immortal glory, it will be purchased at a cheap rate.