'Till He Come' - by AC Gaebelein

Till He Come
by Arno Clemens Gaebelein (1861-1945)

1 Cor 11:26 'For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.'

"Till He Come” are precious words. They are written in connection with the Lord’s Supper, which Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 11:23-36. It is the feast of love and loving remembrance of Him who long ago, in the night He was betrayed, took the bread and the cup, the emblems of the body He gave and the blood He shed. “This do in remembrance of Me.”

Oh! That request He made in view of the Cross with its suffering and shame, its deepest depths of judgment! Remember, it was for you; and now remember Me. Therefore, “as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.”

Whenever we gather at the Lord’s Table on the Lord’s Day, the Lord Himself must be the one object before us, to give Him the worship of our hearts, the praises of our lips. Led by His Spirit, we shall see Him only as He loved and gave Himself for such as we are; as He lives, filling Heaven’s glorious throne, never forgetful of His own, ever caring, loving and guiding each. As we do this in remembrance of Him, we do so “till He come.” All such outward remembrance will cease when at last He takes His blood-bought people home and our home, to His Father and our Father.

“Till He come” we remember His love, and praise and adore Him.

“Till He come.” These are the words which should never leave our hearts. They may be termed Heaven’s message for His waiting people. If they but echo and re-echo in our souls, all will be well with us; joy and peace will be our daily portion, and fellowship with Him will become constantly more real.

“Till He come” we serve, not in self-will, but according to His will, asking Him: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?”

What service He would get if it all were done in the zeal and self-denial, what earnestness and devotion would accompany all our work for Him! How we would use our time, the precious hours He gives us, which are often so sinfully wasted if we just remembered “till He come!” What energy and ambition would possess us if these words were never forgotten!

“Till He come.” The thought will help us and keep us in that walk and life unto which His Grace has called us. Some speak of a deeper life, and others of a higher life; the best is to lead the humble life. Into this we are called to walk even as He walked, to follow Him who was meek and lowly. And willingly we shall follow hard after Him, bear His reproach outside of the camp, if we just remember it is all “till He come.”

“Till He come.” Conflict is our share while here in the body. It does not cease. Our enemies are the wicked spirits, the world, and the flesh. But victory is on our side. He has overcome and through Him we overcome. “Till He come” the conflict rages, but when He comes, the conflict will end and Satan will be completely bruised under our feet. What an incentive to fight the good fight of faith, to be constantly resisting, when the goal is in sight! And “Till He come” is the goal.

And trials, perplexities and the burdens of life—what about these? There is the present comfort, the present help. Prayer is our refuge. The Lord is the great burden bearer. Go to Him and roll the burden today upon Him. He will take it, for He has said so. Not the burdens of tomorrow or next week, but the burdens of today. And in the midst of all, even as we make use of our privilege and cast our burden upon the Lord, we must remember still Heaven’s message to His own: “till He come.”

If He comes today, what will become of our burdens? They will sink deeper than our sins have sunk.

And tears! Was there ever a time of so much crying and weeping, in this dark and evil age, as today? Tears of pain, tears of sorrow, tears of bereavement! Loved ones snatched away, others sick and nearing the grave! But – blessed be His Name! —Weeping endureth during the night, but joy cometh in the morning. It is all “till He come.” And when He comes? He shall wipe away all tears. We shall meet our loved ones, our friends, in His own presence.

“Till He come” is the balm even now for all our heartaches, and in faith we may smile through all the tears we shed.

“Till He come.” Make a test of these blessed words. See if there is anything in your life as a Christian to which they could not be applied. They enter into everything, if we only would have them filling our eyes more, and our hearts. Then we would indeed occupy “till He come.”

“Till He come” and He will come. The “little while” must end some blessed day. The “little while” will end – and then what? Oh, the joy! We shall Him as He is. It is enough! Let us go hence and serve Him better, and spend the “little while” faithful and devoted to Him “till He come.”
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First Published in Our Hope Magazine, 1915. Arno C. Gaebelein