A little stay on earth will make heaven more heavenly. Nothing makes rest so sweet as toil; nothing makes security so pleasant as exposure to alarms. The bitter cups of earth will give a relish to the new wine which sparkles in the golden bowls of glory. Our battered armor and scarred faces will make our victory above more illustrious when we are welcomed to the seats of those who have overcome the world.

We could not have full fellowship with Christ if we did not sojourn here for a while. He was baptized with a baptism of suffering among men, and we must be baptized with the same if we would share his kingdom. Fellowship with Christ is so honorable that the sorest sorrow is a light price to pay for it.

Another reason for our lingering here is for the good of others. We would not wish to enter heaven until our work is done. Perhaps we are yet ordained to minister light to souls lost in the wilderness of sin. Our prolonged stay here is doubtless for God's glory. A tried saint, like a well-cut diamond, glitters much in the King's crown. Nothing reflects so much honor on a workman as when his work endures a long and severe trial without giving way in any part. We are God's workmanship, in whom he will be glorified by our afflictions. It is for the honor of Jesus that we endure the trial of our faith with sacred joy.

Let each man surrender his own longings to the glory of Jesus, and feel: "If my lying in the dust would elevate my Lord by so much as an inch, let me still lie among the pots of earth. If to live on earth forever would make my Lord more glorious, it should be my heaven to be shut out of heaven."

Our time is fixed and settled by eternal decree. Let us not be anxious about it, but wait with patience till the gates of pearl shall open.