Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace.
In the mansions bright and blessèd
He’ll prepare for us a place.
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Words by Eliza E. Hewitt, 1898
Music by Emily D. Wilson

 

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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
Ephesians 2:8

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
John 14:2 – 3

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:11 – 12

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:2

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I am sure you have heard the old saying, you have to know where your going, or you’ll never know when you get there. Having been hiking with the scouts on numerous occasions, I assure you that this is a very useful adage. I recently had the opportunity to attend Florida Sea Base with the scouts. Part of this included canoeing more than five miles on the open ocean to live on an island. Five miles on the ocean, when all you see is water and sporadic islands can be a little disorienting, especially when you have never been there before. Fortunately, our “mate” (guide) knew where we were heading allowing us to arrive safely.

The adage applies to all areas of our lives, including our Christian faith. Yes, there are those who view Christianity as a philosophy of life and a journey of growth, but if this is all it is then as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Our hope is not simply for this life, it is also for the next. The Christian faith is not just the journey, we have a destination for which we are heading. This is the theme of Eliza Hewitt’s “When We All Get To Heaven.”

The hymn paints a picture of that glorious home to which we look forward. It begins with the words, “Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, Sing His mercy and his grace.” Yes we have a destination, a destination that is available to each and everyone of us because of God’s grace and mercy. Ephesians 2:8 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” God’s mercy extends to us grace that opens the door for us. A door that opens to our final destination.

This is not a simple destination, it our eternal home. The hymn reads, “In the mansions bright and blessed He’ll prepare for us a place.”God himself has prepared the place for us. In John 14:2 – 3 Jesus says, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

The hymn continues on with a contrast of our lives today, with the home will one day obtain. It speaks of the darkness and troubles we will face. Hewitt writes, “While we walk the pilgrim pathway, Clouds will overspread the sky.” Yes, we will face trials in this life. There will be struggles, but we can travel through knowing the reward that awaits us. Matthew 5:12 tells us to, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

So we travel on this journey striving to “be true and faithful, Trusting, serving every day.” This is the life we are called to live. This is the journey of the Christian faith, serving every day. We live the words of Joshua in 24:15, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

And so we look forward to the reward for serving, the reward for our faithful journey. The hymn sums up the greatest rewards we will know with the words, “Just one glimpse of Him in glory Will the toils of life repay.” To see the face of our Lord and Savior, one who loved us so much that He gave His very life. This is the fulfillment of our Journey for 1 John 3:2 tells us “But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

So we look “Onward to the prize before us!”, knowing that “Soon His beauty we’ll behold.” Our destination lies before us, and we shall enter in when “Soon the pearly gates will open” and “We shall tread the streets of gold..” We look forward to that day of reward, when our journey shall come to an end. The day we will stand in the very presence of our Lord and Savior. Then “When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory!”

 

 

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