The Meeting in the Air

You have heard of little Moses and the bullrush.
You have heard of fearless David and his sling.
You have heard the story told of dreaming Joseph,
And of Jonah and the whale you often sing.
There are many, many others through the Bible,
I’d like to meet them all I do declare
By and by the lord will surely let us meet them,
At that meeting in the air.

Chorus:
There’s going to be a meeting in the air.
In the sweet, sweet, bye and bye.
I’m going to meet you, meet you over there,
in that home beyond the sky.
Such singing you will hear, never heard by mortal ear,
t’will be glorious I do declare.
And God’s own son, will be the leading one.
At that meeting in the air.

Many things will there be missing in that meeting,
For the mourners bench will have no place at all.
There will never be a sermon preached to sinners,
For the sinner had refused to heed the call.
There will be no mourning over wayward loved ones,
There will be no lonely nights of pleading prayer.
All our burdens and our anguish will be lifted,
at that meeting in the air.

There the doubters will be missing altogether,
All the skeptics will be absent on that day.
There will be no grumblers present to disturb us,
And the Achans will be busy far away.
There the saints will have his ‘seal upon their foreheads’,
Dressed in raiment none but ransomed ones can wear.
All who have the wedding garments will be present,
At that meeting in the air.

#10 in the Red-back hymnal, “The Meeting in the air” is one of my favorite red-back songs.  I was reminded of it recently while listening to one of my favorite radio preachers.  This song is one of those songs that is impossible to sing without smiling.  The tune, and the subject, force you to tap your toe, clap your hands, and think about that day that we will meet Him in the air.  The song is based upon the passage of Scripture found in I Thessalonians 4 where the Bible reads “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”  These verses and this hymn should be a comfort to all of us because we are a people of hope.  We shouldn’t be depressed and concerned about the cares of this world because we are going to be swept away to a better world.  We have received an invitation to that “Meeting in the Air.”  We have been adopted into God’s family.  We will hear the trumpet sound and we will on that day meet the Lord in the air.  Thinking of that day should be an encouragement to all of us.

I noticed something interesting about this song when I re-read the words recently.  I noticed that there are lots of things on earth that will be left behind when we meet the Lord one day.  Some of those  are good things – things we should be doing on Earth (verse 2).  And others are not-so-good things – things we shouldn’t be doing (verse 3).

Should be doing:

Preaching – “Sermon preached to sinners” – Whether we do this from a pulpit or do this with our daily walk, we should all be preachers of the Gospel.  The world is filled with sinners who need to hear the message of Jesus.

Mourning – “Mourning over wayward loved ones” – As Christians, we should have a burden for those we love that don’t know the Lord.  It ought to prompt us to prayer.  It ought to inspire us to share the message of God’s love and forgiveness.  It ought to cause us to mourn.

Praying – “Nights of pleading prayer” – If we are burdened by sinners and by wayward loved ones, there will be nights of pleading prayer.  Cries to the Lord for an opportunity to share the Gospel, and a passion for the Holy Spirit to convict their souls.

Shouldn’t be doing:

Doubting – “Doubters” – A person who is uncertain or hesitant to believe.  God’s people must be a people of faith.  “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”

Being Skeptical – “Skeptics” – A person who doubts the truth of a religion, especially Christianity, or of important elements of it.  The Bible tells us “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Grumbling – “Grumblers” – A person who murmurs or mutters in discontent; complain sullenly.  The Bible tells believers to “do all things without murmuring or complaining.”  When we do, we are saying to God, “What you have provided is insufficient.”  We are saying “Your plans are flawed.”

Being like Achan – “Achans” – A reference to Joshua 7.  Achan disobeyed.  Achan lied.  Achan did not follow the instruction of the Lord, and because of that sin, Achan and his family and his livestock were stoned and burned.

There is an interesting internet company that was founded several years ago.  If you are in the business world, you have probably heard of them from a TV advertisement or seen their ads in a magazine.  The Company is called “Go To Meeting.com.”  They are an online video conferencing company that allows you to meet with people around the world through video and through the internet.  Their service allows you to invite others to join the meeting.  No matter where they are around the world, this service allows others to participate in the meeting if they have the proper access code.

God has invited us to a meeting – a meeting in the air.  It is open to people around the world.  It is open to men and women, Jew and Greek, slave or free.  It is open to the poor and needy, and to the rich and powerful.  He has invited us, and He has told us how we can have access to that meeting.  It is only by the shed blood of His Son.  He is inviting all people to this wedding feast.  Luke 14:23 tells us “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

So let me ask you today.  Have you responded to the invitation to that Meeting in the air?  If so, have you invited anyone else from the highways and the hedges to join you at that meeting?  There is plenty of room at the banquet table.  The harvest is white, but the laborers are few.