HOW
WE ARE to WAIT for the
LORD’S
RETURN
(Luke 19:13; Titus
2:13; 1 Peter 1:13; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:1-6)
The Christian is to
wait for the Lord’s return with assured and enduring hope. Paul speaks of "awaiting our blessed
hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus
2:13). Peter declares that this hope
is no mere wishful tinking (2 Peter 1:16). He admonishes beleaguered Christians to "gird up the loins of your mind, be
sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ" (1Pet. 1:13).
The Christian hope
takes on a decidedly practical stance in waiting. The following are the characteristic
attitudes of the Christian in the interim in which Christians presently live:
1.
Eage
Anticipation
Hebrews 9:28 reads: "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
many; and unto them that look for him shall he apear the second time without
sin unto salvation"
2.
Waiting
Patiently
It was
not easy for the early church, nor for the contemporary Christian, to
await the coming of the Lord. The Lord’s
seeming delay has caused many well-meaning Christians, as well as scoffers, to
display impatience by either foolishly setting arbitrary time frames or to
dismiss it as already past or as a zealous mistake of Christians. Peter again warns, "Be not ignorant of
this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day" (2
Pet.3:8). He makes it clear that our
Lord’s seeming delay is not a failure of His promise to return, but it is His
giving time that all should come to repentance. (2 Pet.3:8). He makes it
clear that our Lord’s seeming delay is not a failure of His promise to return,
but it is His giving time that all should come to repentance.
Janet
Irene Thomas
Director,
Playwright, Gospel Lyricist, Screenwriter
Founder/CEO
Bible
Stories Theatre of Fine & Performing Arts
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