Fellow-Redeemed
in Christ Jesus,
I have seen some promising signs. So, I will
shake off this funk, stand up, and get ready fully expecting something good to
happen. Things are looking up. How about those words as a description of hope?
In a nutshell, this is our Advent hope. Our
failures and our anxieties weigh heavy on our hearts. However, a broken and
contrite heart God will not despise. Like gatekeepers lift up mighty gates to
welcome a king, we fling wide the portals of our hearts to welcome Jesus our
Advent King. Jesus comes bringing us salvation. Christ is the Lord our righteousness.
There are promising signs. Things are looking
up. Jesus’ Coming Gives Us Hope. It gives
us hope for when heaven and earth pass away. It gives us hope that we are able
to stand before the Son of Man.
It was the Tuesday before Jesus would die on
the cross as punishment for our sins. He responded to some of his disciples who
had remarked about the beautiful stones of the Temple, and the gifts dedicated
to God. Jesus told them the sad news that “the
time will come when not one stone is left on another; every one of them will be
thrown down.”[21:6] The Roman destruction of the Temple forty years later
fulfilled his words. It would also picture final judgment.
Jesus then launched into a discourse about
the signs of the end of the age. He warns and comforts believers for the time
when heaven and earth will pass away. Jesus’ Advent into Bethlehem as “God with us” is our hope for that day.
The sun, moon, and stars will give all
humanity signs that the end of the age has begun. “On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring
and tossing of the sea.” Unbelievers will not know what is going on when
this happens. This will be just as those God closed out of the ark were
anguished and perplexed just before they died.
For believers things will be different. These
will be promising signs. Safe in the hope of Jesus Christ, we will recognize
what is taking place and be glad. We will not faint or die “apprehensive of what is coming on the world.” Things will be
looking up for us. The Son of Man is coming “in
a cloud with power and great glory.” Jesus tells us what we are to do. “When these things begin to take place,
stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
The word “stand up” means to be elated after
sorrow. We could say things are looking up so we look up to see Jesus. We
recognize that our redemption, not redemption from sin but final deliverance
from all the temptations and results of sin, is drawing near for the new day of
peace and righteousness in heaven. We know “the
kingdom of God is near,” the kingdom of glory. Believers will know these
signs mean the end of sorrow and the beginning of glory just as the fig tree
bearing leaves means “summer is near.”
Jesus said, “this generation certainly will not pass away until all these things
have happened.” There always will always be those who do not believe in
Jesus as long as the world continues. There will always be those who ignore his
words, the Word of God that will never pass away. They will have no hope. For
believers, Jesus’ coming gives us hope for when heaven and earth pass away.
Jesus’ coming gives us hope in another way.
It gives us hope that we are able to stand before the Son of Man.
“That
day…will come upon all who live on the face of the earth,” Jesus warned his
disciples and warns us as well. We have our hope in Christ. We wear his
righteousness as our wedding dress for the heavenly Bridegroom who soon will
call us. We want to Shake off your drowsy sleep! Lest carelessness befall us.
Our Bridegroom tells us how to do that, “Be careful, literally, take heed of yourself, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, a painful and sickening hangover, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life.” These maladies and temptations rob us of our hope by destroying our faith in Christ. They are the sins that can get the best of us if we do not pay heed to our spiritual lives. Such sin will make us unprepared when the signs and our Savior come. We have to be alert and prepared for the day we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Let me illustrate by using the examples of two men walking along a railroad track; one is sober and alert to his surroundings, the other is hung over sick. His mind is focused entirely on the anxieties of life. The track begins to hum and to vibrate. The air pressure changes and a whistle blows. The first man is alert, ready and the signs of the train’s approach move him off the track and away from death. The second man is not alert or ready. The signs come upon him suddenly and they mean his death.
We are not to satisfy the cravings of our sinful nature, or be anxious about this life. This funk of sin leads to an end of this life like a bird caught in a trap that has closed on it unexpectedly. Instead, “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happened.” We will be able to escape the destruction of the world when Jesus Christ judges us worthy of life in heaven only by wearing his garments of forgiveness and salvation. The Father clothes us in these through the gospel.
All things will pass away except Jesus’ words and those who put them into practice, that is, believe them. We have seen some promising signs: the manger, the cross, the empty tomb, the means of grace, the church God gathers through the gospel. We will see signs that are more promising, the end of all Creation and the coming of Christ in the cloud in power and glory.
These mean our redemption is here. Christ’s coming gives us hope. Things are looking up. Amen. <SDG>