When the Roll is Called Up Yonder

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Chorus:
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

This is another Red-back hymnal song about heaven.  The hymn was written by James Black, who also composed the music.  Here’s the testimony of the author regarding the story behind the hymn that I found in my hymn devotional book “Amazing Grace” by Ken Osbeck.  “While a teacher in the Sunday school and president of a young people’s society, I one day met a girl, 14 years old, poorly clad and a child of a drunkard.  She accepted my invitation to attend the Sunday school and join the young people’s society.  One evening at a consecration meeting, when members answered the roll call by repeating Scripture texts, she failed to respond.  I spoke of what a sad thing it would be when our names are called from the Lamb’s Book of Life, if one of us should be absent.  When I reached my home, my wife saw that I was deeply troubled.  Then the words in the first stanza came to me in full.  In fifteen minutes more, I had composed the other two verses.  Going to the piano, I played the music just as it is found today in the hymnbooks.”  This  “missing” young lady subsequently died from pneumonia after just a 10 day battle with the illness, and should be a reminder for all of us of the urgency and importance of making the decision to follow Christ.

I heard this hymn played at a funeral this week, and it was a reminder for me, and hopefully will be for you, that we are not a people without hope.  We may be a people temporarily saddened by the loss of a loved one or friend, but the key word is temporarily.  We have the promise of that “meeting in the air” and that is something definitely worth celebrating.  But the story behind the hymn should also a reminder of the fact that “life is but a vapor” and we are not promised tomorrow.  Today is the day of salvation.

Couple of comments on the two “Let us” commands/encouragements found in the third verse of this hymn:

• “Let us labor for the Master from the dawn til setting sun” – This phrase reminded me that we all have kingdom work to do – we all need to labor for the Master.  The fields are ripe for harvest, and the Lord needs workers to go into the field.  But this kind of labor is not a “half-day’s” work.  It is not a weekend project.  No, this work is from the dawn til setting sun.  We are called to do “labors of love” every day.  We are also called to continue “working the fields” into the latter parts of our life.  There is no retirement age from working in the Kingdom.  The kind of work we do for the Lord may change.  But there are always tasks to be done for the Master – even until the setting sun.
• “Let us talk of His wondrous love and care” – I wonder how often we talk about our problems and our challenges in life, instead of talking about His wondrous love and care.  I wonder how many unbelievers around us have no desire to become a Christian because there seems to be no joy and peace in our lives.  If, however, our talk is filled with stories of God’s love, God’s care, and God’s provision, how many more would notice that and say “I want to serve a God whose love and care are wondrous.”  Our talk – our words and our daily conversations – have an impact on those around us, so I encourage you to talk about how God has shown His great love to you.  That kind of talk is contagious.

When I was in high school in Oklahoma City, I took Spanish for one year.  One of the few Spanish words I still remember to this day (besides taco, burrito, and quesadilla) is the word “aquí.”  It is the Spanish word for “here.”  I probably heard this particular word 25-30 times a day in Spanish class for an entire year.  The reason I heard this word so much was that when the teacher took roll at the beginning of class, she made all the students in the class say “aquí” instead of saying “here.”  That particular word has been ingrained in my memory for the last 20+ years.

This hymn reminds us that there will be a “roll call” in Heaven.  God will open the Lamb’s book of life and read the names that are written there (Revelation 21:27).  I’m glad today because I am confident that “when the roll is called up yonder,” my answer is “there,” not “here.”  Because I am going to be “there.”  I am confident I will be there, not because I have lived a perfect life.  I am confident I will be there, not because I came from a family of Godly Christian people (although that is the case).  No, I am confident because I know the Savior, and I know that “He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” 

So, do you know anyone who’s answer at the heavenly roll call will be “here” instead of “there?”  Unfortunately, I do, and it is a reminder that there is a dying world out there with souls that don’t know the Lord, and it is convicting to me to share the love of God with others so that they might go where I am planning on going.  I hope to see you “allí” ……”there” in Spanish.