Now is the day of salvation, when by Christ's grace we may prepare for that great day. To be found among His redeemed ones in that day will be of infinitely greater worth than anything this world can give, of pleasure, or possessions, or honor. Nothing will count then but the blessed hope.
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, found the personal Saviour in the days of the Methodist revival in England. All her wealth and all her social influence were devoted to Christ, even though titled friends took umbrage at her close association with the poor and the humble who gave heed to the message of the hour, and pressed into the kingdom. She wrote of her joy in being numbered with the children of God:
"I love to meet among them now,
Before Thy gracious throne to bow,
Though weakest of them all;
Nor can I bear the piercing thought,
To have my worthless name left out,
When Thou for them shalt call.
"Prevent, prevent it by Thy grace.
Be Thou, dear Lord, my hiding place
In that expected day.
Thy pardoning voice, O let me hear,
To still each unbelieving fear,
Nor let me fall, I pray."
One night, at a royal ball, the Prince of Wales asked a titled lady where the Countess of Huntingdon was. "Oh, I suppose she is praying with some of her beggars somewhere!" was the flippant answer. "Ah," said the crown prince, "in the last day I think I should be glad to hold the hem of Lady Huntingdon's mantle." True it is that the greatest gift of grace now, as it will be then, is to be numbered among the obedient children of God.
"Let me among Thy saints be found,
Whene'er the Archangel's trump shall sound,
To see Thy smiling face;
Then joyfully Thy praise I'll sing,
While heaven's resounding mansions ring
With shouts of endless grace."
CHRIST ANSWERING HIS DISCIPLES' QUESTIONS
"When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3.