Photo by Vitaliy Rigalovsky on Unsplash
I have walked with God my entire life, and in that time, I have noticed the call to live an expected life has been replaced with living a purposeful (in many variations) life.
While I do not dismiss living a life of purpose, I find it sad that a life of expectation has been sidelined.
The Apostles speak about both/and, rather than either/or.
“I know that I’m to die soon; the Master has made that quite clear to me.
And so I am especially eager that you have all this down in black and white so that after I die, you’ll have it for ready reference.
We weren’t, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes:
Jesus resplendent with light from God the Father as the voice of Majestic Glory spoke: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of all my delight.”
We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.”
II Peter 1:14-18 The Message
The Apostle is reflecting on (what has been called) the mount of transfiguration, when Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah.
This is an important part of Peter’s story, and I will explain why shortly.
However, Peter is reminding us of the importance of Christ’s return.
The Apostle James has this to say about the return of Jesus.
“Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work.
Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.”
James 5:7-8 The Message
One thing I remember from Bible College was that we were never to pray, “God give me patience,” but the Apostle James tells us to “patiently” wait for Mather’s arrival, and follows it up with, who could return at any time.
The Apostle Peter reiterates this in his second letter.
“My dear friends, this is now the second time I’ve written to you, both letters reminders to hold your minds in a state of undistracted attention.
Keep in mind what the holy prophets said, and the command of our Master and Savior that was passed on by your apostles.
First off, you need to know that in the last days, mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings,
they’ll mock, “So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything’s going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing’s changed.”
They conveniently forget that long ago all the galaxies and this very planet were brought into existence out of watery chaos by God’s Word.
Then God’s Word brought the chaos back in a flood that destroyed the world.
The current galaxies and earth are fuel for the final fire. God is poised, ready to speak his Word again, ready to give the signal for the judgment and destruction of the desecrating skeptics.
Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day.”
II Peter 3:1-8 The Message
I like the picture The Message paints of the Apostle’s words.
“To hold your minds in a state of undistracted attention.”
I imagine someone in a loud place, with music blaring, television playing, and people talking, and the person laser-focused on reading the Bible.
It almost sounds like an impossible task, and today’s world lends itself to the impossible. But the Apostle Peter says to shut it out and stay focused.
The Apostle Paul best addresses the both/and propositions of the Christ-followers’ life.
“For I want you to understand what matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”
Philippians 1:10 New Living Translation
He says Understand what really matters:
Pure and blameless lives and Christ’s return.
Later, in the same letter to the Philippian Christ-followers, he says,
“Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.
Philippians 2:15-16 The Message
He is saying,
Let your life be a breath of fresh air in a polluted society,
Let the words of your mouth be a candle in the darkness, and
Do this until Jesus returns.
To the Christ-followers in Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul says,
“May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.”
I Thessalonians 3:13 The Message
“May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.
I Thessalonians 5:23 The Message
Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don’t go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him.”
II Thessalonians 2:1 The Message
In other words, he is saying it is Christ in you, who is operating through you, touching lives and impacting your world; keep this up until Jesus returns.
The Apostle Paul reminds that the anarchist will be revealed before his return.
“But the time will come when the Anarchist will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels and blow him away. The Master appears and – puff! – the Anarchist is out of there.”
II Thessalonians 2:8 The Message
The Apostle’s message reminds us that there is a fixed time when the anarchist is revealed and Jesus’s return takes place.
Until then, we are to keep our hearts pure and live our lives to be witnesses to Jesus.
The Apostle Peter’s story about the Mount of Transfiguration is about Peter rehearsing an important event in his life that involved Jesus.
This serves a two-fold purpose.
First, we are to hold onto the Word of God in challenging times. Rehearsing the Word in your mind and speaking it aloud (as the Apostle Peter did) builds up your heart and releases peace, comfort, and faith over you.
This is why the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah said,
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty.”
Jeremiah 15:16, the New International Version
Secondly, your encounters with the Lord will encourage you in challenging times. In the turmoil, you pause, close your hearts, and reflect on the time God showed up for you.
The challenge is this: hit the pause button and reflect on your first encounter with Jesus. Remember accepting him and the joy that filled your thoughts and soul.
Think about your eternal life with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Allow that to possess your thoughts for a few moments.
The reality of humanity is that we will live forever.
The reality for a Christ-follower is that we will forever live with Jesus.
Ask the Lord to open your heart to expect his return, and sing songs of praise (or, in my reality, make a joyful noise!).
The call of the Spirit is going out across the land for light bearers and (wisdom-speaking) truth givers to bring the words of life to a lost and dying world—one person at a time.
The journey is exciting and scary, and I am thankful for everyone who is willing to accompany me on it.
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