Day 21- The Coming of Christ
Author: Vincent Smith
I can remember when I was a young child listening to the pastor of our church speak of the second coming of Christ and how it was going to be a horrible day unless you were “ready.” As a child I never understood what “ready” meant, I just knew that it was a day to fear or dread because I did not know if I would be ready or not. I can remember conversations of people looking forward to that day because they would “finally be free of this world and all its sin.” I was confused as to whether it was a day to look forward to or be fearful of.
Oddly enough I found peace in John chapter 3 where I found some insight into what God’s desire is for that day. In the scripture we see “You must understand that God has not sent his Son into the world to pass sentence upon it, but to save it—through him. Any man who believes in him is not judged at all. It is the one who will not believe who stands already condemned, because he will not believe in the character of God’s only Son. This is the judgment—that light has entered the world and men have preferred darkness to light because their deeds are evil. Anybody who does wrong hates the light and keeps away from it, for fear his deeds may be exposed. But anybody who is living by the truth will come to the light to make it plain that all he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:13b-21, J.B. Phillips New Testament).
God loves you and me so much that, while He has every right to judge the world whenever He chooses to, He sent His Son to save it. It says that anyone who believes in Him “is not judged at all.” The only reason I would fear the light is if I have something to hide! If I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), any impurity is already revealed for the blood to cover. There is no reason to fear His coming because it will be the culmination of a relationship that He and I have been cultivating. Is that not an awesome thought? My human nature allowed fear to prevail and I was always seeking “fire insurance” but God is seeking a relationship.
PRAY: Father help us to no longer live in the fear of Your coming, but to walk with You day-by-day and allow Your light to reveal any impurities in our lives that would hinder a relationship with You. Holy Spirit teach us to see the things that cause any separation and bring them to the feet of the Father who loves us so much that He purposefully prepared the way for us to come to Him. Help us to live a life that is so attached to Jesus that when He comes for His Bride that we will be found spotless because we have walked in the light as He is in the light. Amen.