[pebbles-Nibbles]

In “The Great Controversy,” is depicted this inspiring scene in the following words: “As the ransomed ones are welcomed to the city of God, there rings out upon the air an exultant cry of adoration. The two Adams are about to meet. The Son of God is standing with outstretched arms to receive the father of our race – the being whom He created, who sinned against his Maker, and for whose sin the marks of the crucifixion are borne upon the Saviour’s form. As Adam discerns the prints of the cruel nails, he does not fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but in humiliation casts himself at His feet, crying: ‘Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain!’ Tenderly the Saviour lifts him up and bids him look once more upon the Eden home from which he has so long been exiled.

After this expulsion from Eden, Adam’s life on earth was filled with sorrow. Every dying leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the fair face of nature, every stain upon man’s purity, was a fresh reminder of his sin. Terrible was the agony of remorse as he beheld iniquity abounding, and, in answer to his warnings, met the reproaches cast upon himself as the cause of sin. With patient humility he bore, for nearly a thousand years, the penalty of transgression. Faithfully did he repent of his sin and trust in the merits of the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of a resurrection. The Son of God redeemed man’s failure and fall; and now, through the work of the atonement, Adam is reinstated in his first dominion.

Transported with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his delight—the very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands have trained, the very flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the reality of the scene: he comprehends that this is indeed Eden restored, more lovely now than when he was banished from it. The Saviour leads him to the tree of life and plucks the glorious fruit and bids him eat. He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his family redeemed, standing in the paradise of God.”

Friends and foe, if you would be with Him in that day then you must be in Him now. Will you just bow your head where you are and repeat with me this prayer of surrender and consecration:

Father in heaven, I thank Thee for sending Jesus into the world to save me. I have learned that He is the way, the truth, and the life—that He is the way from earth to heaven, from death to life, and I accept Him as my Saviour. Whether I live or whether I die, I do want to be among those who will be found in Him at His second coming. As I place my hand in Yours today by faith, do lead me on. Keep me from falling, and grant that through the merits of my Saviour I will at last see Thy blessed face, and be welcomed into the kingdom of glory, I pray in His precious name, Amen.