"Then how soon?"

"Very, very soon."

"Oh, dear, I can hardly wait!"

So the days went by, with the same questions being asked over and over again, the inquiry always ending with that plaintive plea, "Will it be very soon now?"

Purposely I did not tell him the exact day for fear he would become too excited about it. So I kept saying, "Soon, very soon now."

 Then one day we crossed the border into the United States, and drove to Seattle. There we stayed for the night, so as to be in good time to catch the boat in the morning. But we did not tell the boy. Oh, dear, no. He wouldn't have slept a wink. Neither would we. So when he asked again, as he went to sleep, "Are we going on the boat soon, Daddy?" I said, "Oh, yes, very, very soon now; at which his weary little head fell on the pillow as though he were quite content. Little did he realize that he was so near to the goal of his dreams.

Now, whether or not it was because he had slept within a quarter mile of that ship I cannot say, but he awoke early the next day with the certain conviction in his heart that the great moment had arrived.

Rubbing his little eyes and looking up earnestly into his mother's face, he said with an eagerness I shall never forget, "Is this the morning?"

"Oh, yes," I said, responding to the light of hope and joy blazing in his eyes. "Yes, this is the morning. This is the day you have been waiting for so long. Today we shall go on the big steamer and see the masts and the funnels and all the smoke and things, and ride over the great waves."

"Is this the morning?"

Ever since then the words have rung in my ears like a chime of lovely bells. I have thought of all the people who have been waiting such a long, long time for the glorious morning when Jesus comes, and how happy they will be when it breaks. There are some people alive today who have been waiting nearly a hundred years for Jesus to come. They have not known the time of His coming, but, oh, how they have longed for it! And they have comforted their old hearts by saying, It must be soon now; there's not much longer to wait!"

What joy will be theirs "in the morning"!

I have thought, too, of all the people who have endured sickness and pain, blindness and deafness, and all sorts of dreadful injuries, and how glad they will be "in the morning" when Jesus comes back to open the eyes of the blind, to unstop the ears of the deaf, and to make the lame man leap as a hart! How wonderful it will be to see their joy as they are suddenly healed by His wondrous power, never to be sick again!

I have thought also of all those who have put up with great hardship and poverty, rarely ever seeing trees or flowers or the beauty of the country or the sea, and what pure delight will be theirs "in the morning" when they discover that they will never be poor again, that Jesus has come to bring them riches enough to last forever and ever, and food enough so they will never know hunger again; oh, yes, and when they find that He has planned for them a new heaven and a new earth more lovely than any they ever imagined! 

I have thought, too, of all the exiles, the people who have been driven from their homes and countries by cruel tyrants, and how they must have cried again and again, as they wandered homeless over the earth, and how thrilled they will be "in the morning" to find that Jesus has made ready for them the very mansions that long ago He promised to prepare for His children, a home that shall never pass away. 

I have thought, also, of all the children of God who have gone to sleep in death through all the ages since sin first entered this old world, and how marvelous it will be when Jesus comes to wake them from their long slumber.

Hundreds and thousands of them were loving fathers and mothers who passed away, longing for their children; and countless others were children who died, longing to see their parents again; and one day soon upon their waiting ears will fall the voice of Jesus calling them from the grave. Can you not hear them all crying in glad and happy surprise, "Jesus, is this the morning?"

What a glad reunion there will be that day!

Many will be the martyrs of Jesus; men, women, and children who chose to be tortured and killed rather than give up their faith in Him. Lots and lots of them perished miserably in dungeons, waiting patiently for deliverance that never came. Can you not hear them crying, almost frantic with joy, as the Master for whom they gave up so much bends over them in tender love and calls them from the tomb to spend eternity with Him, "0 Jesus, is this the morning for which we have waited so long?"

Some people talk about the coming of Jesus as a day of darkness, gloom, and misery, but for all who love Him it is going to be the happiest day in history. That's why the apostle Paul calls it "the blessed hope." It's going to be the most wonderful, the most glorious, and the most joyous event that ever happened.

Everyone of us should be looking forward to it with the keenest joy, just as Jesus Himself must be longing, too, for the great day to dawn.

In my front garden, down by the gate, there used to be the trunk of a dead pepper tree. The top was flat and made a dear little seat, and there was a step so that one could climb up onto it.

For years this was my youngest boy's seat, where he would sit and wait for his daddy to come home.

It used to make going home so thrilling to think he would be there. When I was still a long way off he would see me and there would be a mighty yelling and a great waving of hands.

And it seems to me that this is how Jesus would have us await His coming, sitting high up on the pepper tree, as it were, looking eagerly down the road, waiting and watching for Him.

And I believe that just as I would take up my little boy and hug him because he was waiting there at the gate for me, so Jesus will gather us into His everlasting arms of love and tell us He is glad we did the same for Him.

Then in that glorious day we will all go in together to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb," and to hear His kind voice say to everybody, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And it will all be so wonderful, so unbelievably beautiful, that we shall cry out in rapture once more; "Is this the morning?"

And I am sure the angels will answer our question in a wonderful song of joyful assurance. THIS IS THE MORNING!

IT'S EASY TO BE READY!
READ HOW LITTLE MARY GOT READY:

It was Children's Day down at the church hall. The Sabbath school teachers had planned something very special for all the boys and girls, from the juniors down to the little tots in the kindergarten room.

Six-year-old Mary was so happy to go! She loved to be with other children, especially when they were all dressed up in their prettiest things.

What a good time they had together! Such jolly games. Such happy surprises! And such lovely food! Sandwiches and toasted buns and cookies and treats on sticks, and lots of lemonade to drink. Then the superintendent said that somebody special was going to talk for a little while, and would everybody please be quiet?

A sudden hush settled over the hall as the boys and girls sat down and stopped talking.

"Just a little thought for you to take home with you," said the man on the platform. "It's about two little words: BE READY." Then he walked over to a blackboard and wrote, BE READY TO HELP OTHERS.

"That's the first thing we should do," he said. "We should always be ready to help anybody in need. If we keep our eyes open we will see chances to help other people all the time."

Then he wrote on the board: BE READY TO STAND AGAINST EVIL.

"That is something else we must do. So often boys and girls are tempted to do things that are wrong, things that will get them into trouble, or hurt other people. Every time temptation comes let us be ready to stand against it."

Then he wrote: BE READY TO MEET GOD.

"This is the most important thing of all," he said. "Someday we must all meet God. To be ready to meet Him we must rid our hearts of everything that is unlike Him; everything that is unkind, unlovely, and unholy. And we can only do that by asking Jesus to live within us by His Spirit every day."

That was all. It was soon over. "Let's sing a little song," said the man. And they did. It was the beautiful prayer found in the song we often sing,

"Into my heart, into my heart,

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus;

Come in today, come in to stay,

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus."

When Mary got home that evening, Mamma asked her whether she had had a good time. "Oh, yes," she said. "I never enjoyed myself so much in all my life."

"But you look sad," said Mamma. "What's the matter?"

"Oh no, I'm not sad," said Mary, smiling. "I was just thinking. "

Next morning Mary came running downstairs.

" I'm ready! I really am ready!"

"Ready?" said Mamma. "Ready for what?"

"Ready to meet God," said Mary, "just as the speaker said yesterday afternoon. I've been singing, 'Come into my heart, Lord Jesus,' and He's come. I know He has. Isn't it nice to be ready, Mamma?"

Dear little Mary! She had discovered the secret of happiness and the keys to the kingdom of heaven!

  You can find Jesus too; Just tell Him that you want to be His forever and live for Him. Ask Him to forgive all your sins and come and live in your heart. HE WILL !