Yesterday, I wrote that increasing earthquakes are a sign of Jesus’ return. Even as I did so, I was aware that not everyone is longing for Him. Personally, I am tired of the suffering, the lawlessness, and the evil in the world. I long for His return. Did you know that Jesus promises a special crown to those who love, or long for, His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8 NIV)?
So, what would keep someone from longing for the return of the Lord? What quenches that appetite? Could it be a longing for the things in the world (1 John 2:15)? Though my generation is not exempt from such longings, it is generally the younger generation that is especially vulnerable because they don’t want to consider the likelihood they won’t have their opportunity to live a full and happy life.
This “you can have it all” promise is one of Satan’s most effective strategies to quench people’s longing for God, distracting them from the things that are really worth going after. When we truly see that the world is passing away and we are just passing through it (1 John 2:171 Peter 1:17), and the more we see ourselves as "aliens and strangers” in it (Eph. 2:19), the greater will be our longing for His return. Why would you want to stay here when there is "something so much better waiting for you" (Heb. 10:34).
Only a higher love for the Lord than for the world can make us wait for Him expectantly. Hebrews 9:28 has been a very important verse in this respect: "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" What is really important is the kind of waiting. Am I waiting, just as I wait for the bus or at the doctor's waiting room? I think the waiting the Lord expects of us is one with an eagerness, a unique and exclusive desire for Him residing in our hearts. It is a very active waiting, seeking Him in every possible way to know Him more and more. Then we won't be taken by surprise at His coming, we will be like the 5 wise virgins. All were waiting, but these five were living in close fellowship with the Holy Spirit, waiting for Him expectantly.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for adding the idea of "waiting" to that of "longing." One of my favorite passages (I should have referenced it in today's post) is Isaiah 30:18, "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you... How blessed are all those who long for Him."
ReplyDeleteAlso I will add the word "wait" to today's 'labels,' as I have written before about the word "wait."
see earlier post: http://dyingtoliveabundantlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-are-we-to-do-while-waiting-for.html
ReplyDeleteGreg,
ReplyDeleteAnother word comes to mind in this vein: "occupy." In the longing and waiting for His return (and our joining Him) we are to be active in our demonstration of love, devotion, and response to establishing His values where we live. He told us to be "salt" and "light." That requires a "present-kind-of-presence" alongside our yearning for release from this sinful world and into the full freedom of His Presence where our relationship will not suffer the limits of space, time, and the gravitational pull of contending with our flesh.
Stan
"Occupy": a relevant word for today!
ReplyDelete