Will you Meet me Over Yonder

Will you Meet me Over Yonder

Luke 16:19-31King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

²⁰ And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

²¹ And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

²³ And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

²⁵ But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

²⁶ And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

²⁷ Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

²⁸ For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

²⁹ Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

³⁰ And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

³¹ And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Lazarus, the poor beggar, found no comfort, nor solace from those among whom he resided during his existence in an uncaring world, among an uncaring people.

He found no pleasure of diversion nor relief from pain given by those who lived so close to where he sat begging daily simply to continue his existence in that uncaring world.

Yet, solace, comfort and care were found at the end of that life as he came to a reward that was unending and took his place with those who were able to find that same reward, through faith, all who chose to follow that faith that was followed from Abraham down to him, the poor, needy descendant, welcomed home to the richness prepared for him through that faith.

The rich man became the beggar, as he found that he had squandered that same reward, having chosen instead the reward of the pleasures and wealth given him in this world, while ignoring the fact of its very tenuousness and the fleeting time that was temporarily loaned him.

He begged first for relief from the reward he had himself chosen through the life he lived and the choices made within that life.

He then begged for those left behind that he cared for to be informed of those rewards that they themselves were continuing to set aside for themselves while acquiring the same ones he had chosen during the life he had lived.

The begging was ineffective, the requests were no longer possible to be filled, as those requests came far too late, after having thrown away the chance make them while they could be heard.

He heard and heeded only what he desired, what he could acquire for himself, and so too did those to whom he so desperately wanted to send a messenger in order that they need not face that same condemnation and damnation that separated him from the reward he found so much more desirable than that which he had earned.

Abraham’s chilling answer echoes still for any and all with ears to hear that have the sincere love and desire to see the souls of those they love reap the true rewards given by faith, denied by greed and self-effacement, given though the humility demanded by that faith, denied by the aggrandizement of men instead of God.

That rich man chose to follow his own way, deny the truth of the only true WAY, and in the end, denied the promised LIFE that comes only through that TRUTH.

Jesus cared enough about all, and the choices being made to come to us to provide the warning that was so desired by that rich man for his brethren, and to assure the promise inherited by the poor beggar Lazarus to each willing to heed and hear that final warning, to hear the simplicity of the message he brought, and to meet the simplicity of the commandment given us through HIM by God.

Will you Meet me Over Yonder

I am bound for that bright city
Where the streets are paved with gold
Where in peace I'll dwell forever
All the joys can never be told.

Will you meet me over yonder
And with happy millions dwell
Will you meet me over yonder
Where we'll never say farewell?


That will be a happy meeting
With the dear ones passed away
Oh, the joy of that reunion
In that land of endless day.

Will you meet me over yonder
And with happy millions dwell
Will you meet me over yonder
Where we'll never say farewell?
 

Brother say how are you living
Should he call for you to go
Are you ready for the summons
Is your robe made white as snow?

Will you meet me over yonder
And with happy millions dwell
Will you meet me over yonder
Where we'll never say farewell?...

Today’s hymn used in the title asks a simplistic question, echoes the desire that that question be answered in the affirmative and affirms the necessity of hearing and heeding a message no longer often given, as substitutes are offered in its stead.

Those substitutes, each and all assure the answer to the question as to where the meeting must occur… as the choice of what is accepted here denies what will be desired there.

We not only have Moses, and the prophets to look to for what is expected of us.

We need not rely on the dead to give warning.

We have been given the warning and the promise as well, by a LIVING Savior, and may no longer offer excuse once that warning has been heard.

Once it has been heard and heeded, it is our responsibility to bring that same warning, and that same promise to those we love while we have life on this plane to do so.

We have been given a commission, just as were the disciples given a commission to make known both warning and promise:

Matthew 28:17-20

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

All things, remains all things commanded, all things taught, all things accepted.

Anything less remains unacceptable no matter how acceptable it is by those who have chosen their own way, as did that rich man.

That which is observed must begin with the message preached and the commandment given us by Jesus, the LIVING SON OF GOD, Whose life, ministry, substitutional sacrifice and resurrection alone provide the rewards granted the two beggars who begged for such different rewards here and were granted those chosen to be given there.

As for me, I continue to beg… for the grace already given me…. The certainty already accorded me… the salvation already granted me… the forgiveness already provided me… the mediation on my behalf already exercised for me, and that those around me, all those around me, find that same need to beg now for the ability to accept what has been given by HIM, and ask that same question asked by the title hymn used today, “Will you meet me over Yonder?”

I pray the answer is yes!

2 Timothy 1:12

King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen

CMc