JESUS CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN!!
"This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11, NKJV)
Devotion #3 of 15

WAITING FOR HIS SON FROM HEAVEN
     The Holy Spirit describes our conversion, or manner of life, in a variety of ways. All of them challenge our thinking. Of particular interest are the expressions that mention Christ's return. The Thessalonian brethren received this analysis of their conveyance into Christ. "For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess 1:9-10). What a marvelous expression!

     Paul is not stating a commandment, but a condition, or circumstance. New life in Christ involves a very real separation from the world order. The new birth uproots us from "this present evil world" (Gal 1:4), and begins a transformation that will consummate in being "like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:1-3). That is God's predestinated purpose: that we be confromed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). The reason we are "waiting for His Son from heaven" is that we have lost our affinity with this world, and have gained an inheritance in the one to come. Christ's coming will unite us with that inheritance.

     One can no more be a child of God and NOT wait for His Son from heaven  than he can be one and not turn from idols, or not serve the living God. This is an experiential triplet that cannot be broken: turn, serve, and wait!

     And what does it mean to "wait for His Son from heaven?" It means to be anxious for Him to return, to eagerly anticipate His coming. Mark this: a professing believer that is not living in expectation of the coming of Christ is a self- contradiction. A church that is not anxiously awaiting the Lord's coming is
no church at all; it is an imposter! It is simply not possible to be in Christ and have no interest in His return. He is the reason we left our idols, whether they were physical images or inclinations to covetousness. Jesus is the reason we "serve the living God." A religion that has no present and anticipated identity
with Jesus is an enemy to the soul, and will suffer the judgment of the Almighty!

If you are deficient in your waiing for Christ, I have good news for you. The Lord can "direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ" (2 Thess 3:5). You do not need to be deficient in this matter anhy longer.
     
PRAYER POINT: Father, direct my heart into en enduring and indefatigable waiting for Christ. In Jesus' name, help me to be strong in this vital area!

-- TOMORROW: THE BLESSED HOPE OF THE CHURCH --