Where Could I Go?

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“Living below, in this old sinful world, hardly a comfort can afford, striving alone to face temptations sore, where could I go but to the Lord?” (James Coats, 1940). The words of this oft sung hymn remind us of one very important point: our God is accessible. There is no greater comfort to the Christian than this thought. There is no higher love than that of our Father’s for us (John 3:16).

The greatest plan ever devised came from a mind of infinite wisdom, culminating in the church (Ephesians 3:8-12). His loving sacrifice for a sin-filled world is both unwarranted and unspeakable mercy from Him. It is what we could never have hoped for or imagined.

We would have settled for the scraps, the leftovers. We would have settled for a small office with no window. We would have welcomed the chance to be the janitor in heaven, just to see Him and be close to Him. Our hearts desperately long to go home. We think with horror of the alternative and would rather live as a pauper in heaven than face eternal torment without Him.

To be apart from Him for eternity is the worst of all torments. Imagine no light at all, in any sense of the word, since God is light (I John 1:5). Imagine a place with no love, since God is love (I John 4:8). Imagine an eternity without God.

When we see that God saved us from that place, let us rejoice and be glad! But there’s more. Not only did he save us from an eternal hell, He will usher us into the heavenly realm to be with Him forever (Revelation 22:1-6). Certainly God could have simply decided to save us and allow us to exist as we do now, where He is here but unseen. But He chose to bless us with Heaven itself.

And there’s more. Not only did our God promise to allow us into His august presence, He has promised to bless us even more! We do not enter Heaven as the paupers we are. To put it in human terms, we will not have a cubicle with no window and a Rubber Tree Plant for eternity. We will not be on welfare and government housing in Heaven. No, He has promised us an abundant entrance (2 Peter 1:11) with an incorruptible inheritance (I Peter 1:3-4).

Let us remember the incredible sacrifice made on our behalf. Let us rejoice over the promised blessings and realize an important point: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Though we sin and fall short and need to constantly watch for sin, we have help from our God. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

When things get hard, remember what our God has done for us and remember that it is to Him that we can and should go. “Where could I go, but to the Lord?”

Jason Sparks - April, 2003