Friday, November 24, 2006
Luke 21:28 "Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
THANKING HIM IN ADVANCE
During the month of November the thoughts of many turn to Thanksgiving. For those who think beyond football and feasting, it is a time when the harvest has been gathered in for another year, and grateful hearts sing their praises to God. It is good for us to do this also, not only for ourselves but also on behalf of those who do not know whom to thank.
For many Christians this is also the end of the church calendar, and thoughts turn to the last things: the end of the age, and the judgment day. It will not be long before we enter the season of Advent, when a new church year is begun by remembering the coming of Jesus, the Christ.
Actually these two seasons go together, for the end of the world will also mark the time of Jesus' second coming. And as we look toward the coming of Christ, it may be with several emotions.
Because of our sinful human nature, we may not always enjoy the prospect of Jesus' coming. After all, it means the end of some things that we are quite used to. Perhaps that is why our flesh rebels, and sometimes quite strongly. As one honest youngster put it: "Come, Lord Jesus, but not just yet. First I want to grow up and enjoy some of the thing I look forward to."
Because of our sinful nature, we do not always realize that our happiest hours are really when we are serving (not ourselves, but) honored guests: children, parents, family, friends, those who gather to hear God's Word.
We do not, I say, always realize the joy of serving others. But God has revealed to us by His Spirit that there will be no more joyful day than that day when we rise to meet the Lord in the air and welcome Him to earth as an honored guest.
Not only will we have no more tears/pain/sorrow/death or even bad memories of such things, but we will also have a most high and holy purpose: to serve One who is truly worthy of the highest honor. It will be our joy to serve One who laid down His life not only for His friends, but even for His enemies. For ALL of us Jesus laid down His life and triumphed over our death!
We do not yet see with our eyes all that Christ, the Priest, has accomplished, or that Christ, the King, still does for us. But when He comes we will see!
And now, while many are celebrating in thanksgiving for what they have seen, we are also thanking him in advance for what we shall see on the day of His coming. "Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:28).
