The owner of the tenement which I have occupied for many years has given notice that he will furnish but little or nothing more for repairs. I am advised to be ready to move.
At first this was not a very welcome notice. The surroundings here are in many respects very pleasant, and were it not for the evidence of decay. I should consider the old house good enough: but a light wind causes it to tremble and totter, and all the braces are insufficient to make it secure. So I am getting ready to move.
It is strange how quickly one’s interest is transferred to the prospective home. I have been consulting maps of the new country and reading descriptions of its inhabitants. One who has visited it has returned (Paul), and from him I learn that it is beautiful beyond description. Language breaks down in attempting to tell of what he heard while there. He says that in order to make an investment there he has suffered the loss of all things that he owned here, and even rejoices in what others call making a sacrifice. Another, whose love to me has been proven by the greatest possible test, is now there. He has sent me several clusters of the most delicious fruits. After tasting them, all food seems insipid.
Two or three times I have been down to the border of the river that forms the boundary, and have wished myself among the company of those who sing praises to the King on the other side. Many of my friends have moved there. Before leaving, they spoke of my coming later. I have seen the smile on their faces as they passed out of sight. Often I am asked to make some investment here, but my answer in every case is, “I am getting ready to move.”
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Cor. 5:1.