“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The glorious appearing of our Savior should not be simply a doctrine to us. We should be looking forward to His Return, with eager expectancy. With intense joy should we anticipate meeting the One who has died for us, and who has planned so glorious a future for us!
Living for Him
“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Pet. 3:14). Our lives should be very different because we believe our Lord is returning for us. Everything should be done in the light of that day.
How different some of our lives would be if we commenced each day with the thought that “perhaps today” the Lord will come. It would have a purifying effect on our conduct. “…Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
Laboring for Him
In His parable of the pounds, the Lord Jesus says, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13). Our Lord has given us a job to do. Let us do it faithfully.
We should also labor for Him in love. In his daily thanks to God, Paul remembered the “labor of love” of the Thessalonians (1 Thes. 1:3). The Lord tells us, “I know thy works, and thy labor…” (Rev. 2:2). Let us not labor for Him merely as a duty, but because we love Him – doing whatever task He has entrusted to us gladly and patiently. Service that is undertaken in love will bear fruit. It will also receive rich rewards.
We should labor for Him because many fields are “white unto harvest.” Whilst our prayer is “Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” the prospect of His Coming should cause us to redouble our efforts to reach the unsaved. There is much to do before our Lord comes, and there are many indications that He is coming quickly. Hands to the plough, therefore, and no looking back! Lay aside every weight; away with every hindrance! Christ is coming and millions are unsaved. How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher? Untold millions have never yet been told God’s plan of salvation for sinners. Jesus Christ died that sinners might repent and be forgiven, and He expects us to make it known. What a joy it will be to share in the harvest.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).
Leaning on Him
Since He has assured us that in love He is preparing a wonderful home for us, and is coming for us to take us to it, and plans that we shall be eternally happy, then we can surely put our trust in Him now. He cannot be concerned for our eternal blessing and indifferent to our present needs! If we can trust Him for our future, we can trust Him for the present. All our circumstances are known to Him, and He can overrule everything. How inconsistent is worry and anxiety and fear, in the light of the Lord’s Coming. “He loves, He knows, He cares,” and we can have His blessed leading day by day.
Loving Him
“Whom having not seen, ye love…” (1 Pet. 1:8). The Holy Spirit has revealed the wonderful things of Christ to us who are “chosen in Him.” What precious things He has shown in the Word about our Savior and Lover. How we should love Him! |
Older
Top
