Jesus is coming back soon! How do I know? The Bible says so. I can’t give you a date. Only the Father knows when. But it will be soon.
For most of my life I’ve longed for and looked for His coming. But the older I get, the more eager I am for His return. Why is that?
I’ve pondered that question. For me personally, for others I know, and from the pattern of those in the New Testament, I see five things that make us long for Jesus’ return. Here they are in no particular order:
- Suffering and persecution. You might
think this point is a no-brainer. If someone is suffering—for whatever reason—of
course they want to be delivered from their suffering. And surely there is some
of that motivation at play. But I think it goes deeper than that.
When we suffer in some significant way and that suffering drives us to trust Jesus more, we find in Him depths of strength, compassion and comfort like we’ve never known. Our love and longing for Jesus increases and we can hardly wait to enjoy His presence!
- A sense of urgency about those who don’t yet
know Christ. In 2 Peter 3, Peter explains that the Lord is delaying His
coming out of His desire to see more and more people come to know Him. This
happens chiefly through our witness. Peter establishes a strong link between
our desire to see people come to Jesus and our longing for His return. In this
way we “speed His coming.” (2 Peter 3:8-14)
The gist of this is: Jesus is coming back soon. It may even be today or tomorrow. With this in mind, seek to bring others to Christ before it is too late. And as you express your excitement about Jesus’ return to those you witness to, your longing for His return will intensify.
- An ever-increasing love for Christ.
Through God’s Word, the testimonies and interaction with others, and the course
of life itself, we can choose to cultivate our love of Christ. And as our love
for Him increases, we yearn to be with Him more and more.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)
- A broken heart over sin and evil. I see
two levels of this principle. The first is obvious. All one need do is watch
the news to be horrified by the evil of mankind. Last November, I visited the
Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. To say that I was deeply moved is an
understatement. I was so saddened and appalled by the evil of mankind that I
had to break my visit short. I couldn’t stomach it any longer. “Even so, come,
Lord Jesus!”
The second level has to do with a broken heart over our own sin and evil. When we are so thoroughly appalled by our own sin and our yearning to be free of its evil forever, we can’t help but long for Jesus’ return!
- God’s Word. Nearly every book of the New
Testament speaks of Jesus’ return in power and glory. These passages are not
isolated mentions. The promise of Christ’s return has always been a focal point
of the Gospel and of revivals throughout history.
In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus is speaking to John. Three times Jesus says, “I am coming soon!” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20) If we’re reading God’s Word regularly, we can’t help but be reminded of Jesus’ soon return.
The question is, are we longing for His return? You can cultivate a yearning to see Jesus again by applying any or all of the above principles.
When the apostle John heard Jesus declare for the third time that He is coming soon, John responded, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
©2019 Rob Fischer