When the roll is called up yonder…

My mother was a pianist, a violinist, and a good soprano singer. And my father sang bass. So, there was a lot of singing at home. We lived in Neyveli at that time. I remember Boniface uncle but do not remember the others. They used to come home to sing from the Songs and Solos and the A&M Hymnal.

One of the songs that were frequently sung was

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

written and set to music by James M. Black, in 1893 in Pennsylvania.

It was truly one of my favorites and I used to sing it with great gusto. I was not a great singer but I loved singing! One day after singing I asked my father what it all meant. I was a little girl and my father must have found the question too difficult to answer and in his usual manner he said,” You will understand it by and by.” True to his word, I really did understand it later in life.

We get saved someday but that is not like buying a ticket to heaven. We have to then start living a Christ pleasing life on earth with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is not that a believer will never fall into sin. But continuing willfully in sin is definitely a different story. God gives us a long rope to see if we will repent and return to Him. The good news is God never gives up on us. That is the greatest blessing of the salvation story. Like the father who waited for his errant son (Luke 15), God waits for each one of us to return to Him.

All of us have to answer this question truthfully: When the roll is called up yonder, will I be there? The Bible says in Matthew 24:13, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved”. We never know when our time shall come.

My friend, repent and return to the Father today so that we can confidently say, “When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”

Categories: Weekly DevotionalsAuthor: Hephzibah StephenDate: 15th May 2018 Share: newsletterDisplay date: 16th May 2018

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