Key Verse: "Father, I will that they
also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may
behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before
the foundation of the world."
- John 17:24 KJV
This is not the petition of a suppliant — but the
claim of a conqueror! Christ's people are a sorrowing people! Chastisement
is their badge; "great tribulation" is their appointed discipline. When they
enter the gates of glory, Christ is represented as wiping away tears from their
eyes. But, weeping ones, be comforted! Your Lord's special mission to earth —
the great errand He came from Heaven to fulfill, was "to bind up the
brokenhearted." Your trials are meted out by a tender hand! He knows
you too well — He loves you too well — to make this world
tearless and sorrowless!