NT 4: Ready for Him

Christians have looked forward to the coming of Christ since the time he left.
We want to see Him again.

We are told that He will come as a thief in the night.
Yet those who are prepared would never have to fear.

There were many things stopping the early church from preparing. Fear, idleness, whatever it was that was stopping them had a disastrous effect. Paul teaches that the day would not come "save there should be a falling away first." That falling away happened as apostasy destroyed the church.

We had better heed Paul’s warning, for while apostasy will not come to the entire church again, it can come to us personally. Regardless of whether Christ will come to the earth in our lifetime, each of us will meet God face to face and account whether or not we gave all our efforts to His work.

How did apostasy come to the early church? Paul told that it would happen as the devil was revealed, as one who "exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."

This is what we have to fight--a being that calls himself God, puts himself above God, has the audacity to sit in the very temple of God, and makes every claim that he is God.

It may seem removed from us, but not when we realize that what we spend our time with, our efforts thinking about, and our hearts set on is our god. If it is not the true and living God, what are we worshiping? When we remember that our bodies are temples of God, the warning that the devil will sit in the temple of God is chilling. If His spirit is not within us, what is?

What will make the difference for us?
Light.

Paul teaches that those who are children of the light need never fear his coming. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of children of the light is that they have faith.
They don't face his coming with fear. They look forward to his coming, no matter the time, and their "waiting" is an active waiting.

Christians wait, yet they do not wait idly.
They pray, they work, they become more and more like God, and they never give up.
If they are children of light, they are children of Christ, who is the light of the world. They love truth, they live truth, and they rejoice in righteousness.
After all their efforts, they wait for His coming. And they will be ready!

There is no need for fear or trembling because they have the very God of peace to be with them, "to sanctify [them] wholly." Their whole spirit and soul and body will be ready to meet Him again--and how joyous it will be.