Evening, March 22
Charles Spurgeon · Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
John 17:24
"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me
where I am."
John 17:24
O death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches
weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the
earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it
upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But
why wilt thou fell the goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and
spare the righteous. But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest
of our friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy,
the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus' prevailing
prayer--"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be
with me where I am." It is that which bears them on eagle's wings to
heaven. Every time a believer mounts from this earth to paradise, it is
an answer to Christ's prayer. A good old divine remarks, "Many times
Jesus and his people pull against one another in prayer. You bend your
knee in prayer and say Father, I will that thy saints be with me where
I am;' Christ says, Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given
me, be with me where I am.'" Thus the disciple is at cross-purposes
with his Lord. The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one
cannot be with Christ and with you too. Now, which pleader shall win
the day? If you had your choice; if the King should step from his
throne, and say, "Here are two supplicants praying in opposition to one
another, which shall be answered?" Oh! I am sure, though it were agony,
you would start from your feet, and say, "Jesus, not my will, but thine
be done." You would give up your prayer for your loved one's life, if
you could realize the thoughts that Christ is praying in the opposite
direction--"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be
with me where I am." Lord, thou shalt have them. By faith we let them
go.