At Hand

At hand. How often do we use these words! At hand—it means it is coming soon; it is almost there. For one, the study in college or university is at hand; for someone else, marriage or a new job is at hand. Soon things will change. A new phase will come in our life, and we do not know what that will bring us. At hand. We can expand the number of examples, but how poor if we only and foremost focus on earthly things.

At hand. Did we ever realize that the end of our life may be at hand and that the last day of the world is at hand? My beloved, everywhere in the world we see the signs of it. The footsteps of Christ’s coming are clearly noticed. We hear of wars and rumors of wars, of pestilences, and of love that is waxing cold. Soon Christ will come again to judge the quick and the dead. Beloved reader, are we then ready to meet our Maker?

At hand. How solemn these two words are. John the Baptist points here to the kingdom of heaven which is at hand. Christ, the King of that kingdom, has come and will soon appear among the people. He will reveal Himself not only in miracles but above all in the preaching of law and gospel, of a poor sinner and a rich Christ and how they come together. He, the Given of the Father from all eternity, will satisfy for His children with His own blood.

Has that ever become an eternal wonder for you? Has the Lord ever made room for that in your soul? In Adam we willingly and voluntarily turned away from God. If He would do with us according to what we deserve, we all will have to perish, but in His eternal good pleasure He has given His precious Son to die for all His people. That message of free and sovereign grace may still be heard in our congregations.

However, my beloved, what Christ has done for His people needs to be applied in His people’s hearts. Therefore, the Lord still comes with the solemn command to do what we cannot do anymore: Repent ye! God’s Spirit uses that serious calling to repentance to break hard hearts and to open blind eyes so that we may see that we have no God for our heart although we in our religion and piety may think that we are already on the narrow way.

The call “repent ye” does not teach us that repentance is the fruit of our work, for we are dead in sins and trespasses. The call to repent says that we are unconverted, for we have fallen in Paradise, yet we are accountable for that. The wonder is that God works in them to will and to do after His pleasure. He converts His people. He opens their eyes and ears. He brings them as guilty sinners on their knees, and as the fruit of true conversion, they repent.

When the Lord stops sinners to convert them, they receive a godly sorrow which works repentance not to be repented of. As prodigal sons and daughters they come to themselves, turn away from their sins, and return unto the Lord. They learn experientially that they have sinned against a good-doing and holy God and ask, “How shall we ever receive a gracious God for our soul?” Has this ever become your struggle, my beloved reader?

At hand. That is pressed upon the heart. Death is at hand; I must die but cannot die as I am born. Eternity is at hand, and soon I will stand before God’s judgment seat to give an account of all I have done in this life, whether good or evil. Then it is lost forever, for my case has not been solved. I need God for my heart and a Saviour for my soul. Neither rest nor peace is found in the heart of such a sinner until the Lord gives him peace in Christ.

The Lord will not leave such restless ones in darkness. By His Word and Spirit, He will speak unto their heart. He shows that there is a way unto salvation outside of themselves in Christ. He becomes so necessary, but how will that precious Mediator ever become mine, and how will I ever become His? That is the holy concern of their heart. To see in Him a full salvation is great, but to receive it is necessary. Has this become your struggle?

Then it will become a lost case. As poor, guilty beggars we stand before God, exclaiming, “Needy and sorrowful to Thee I cry. I will supplicate my Judge for mercy.” What a blessed place that is. There, Christ appears unto their soul: I am thy salvation. At hand—that is necessary time and again. We must also repent from our daily sins, even from our bosom sin. That remains a daily struggle, for even the holiest one has only a small beginning of obedience.

At hand. At moments God’s people may long for the coming again of Christ. O Lord, when cometh the day that I may be with Thee? It is at hand! Everything testifies about it. Do we know that personally? Death and eternity are at hand, and then? May we hasten for our lives’ sake. How blessed when this is bound upon the heart. One day, He will come to receive His people home. It is at hand. Then Christ will be all in all, forever.

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