“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” [1Corinthans 15:7-9]
The fruit and ultimate fulfillment of our resurrection hope is the Second Coming of Jesus. There are 318 references to Jesus’ Second Coming in the New Testament—roughly 1 out of every 13 verses mentions it, and nearly every moral command in the New Testament is somehow tied to His Second Coming. I am always moved by how Paul describes the events of Jesus’ return:
“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” [1 Corinthians 15:21-26]
The promised Second Coming of Jesus should change us and challenge us in how we live our lives while we wait. As we prepare our hearts for Easter, this would be a good time for each of us to ask, “Am living like someone who really believes Jesus is coming back?”
First, the Second Coming should fill us with spiritual urgency. I think the best understanding of the Bible’s teaching about end times is that Jesus could come back at any moment. This understanding of the impending return of Jesus should drive each of us to ask ourselves, “Am I ready? Am I living in a way that would honor my Lord if He were to appear right now?” The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is a sober warning to all us to make sure we are ready. This imminent return should also fill us with a sense of urgency to reach those around us who don’t know Him. Are you sharing, are you inviting, are you serving, are you reflecting the glory of Christ to all those around you?
Second, the Second Coming should fill us with strength in our struggles. The hope of the Second Coming is that one day Jesus will return to make all things right, and that Jesus will establish His eternal Kingdom as the New Heaven and the New Earth, and that the struggles and pains of a world, of our bodies, of our relationships that are broken by sin will be made right. This human timeline has an end—which means the struggles, sufferings, and brokenness of your timeline has an end. As Believers we know that this can happen either at the moment of our death and beginning of our eternal life or in a twinkling of an eye when Jesus returns. Either way, we have a deep source of strength for our struggles.
Third, the Second Coming should fill us with the capacity to forgive. When we forgive, it is, in essence, our way of saying that we have faith that God is ultimately in control, that God will ultimately make all things right, that God is the ultimate judge of other peoples’ actions and that we are not. Acts 17:31 reminds us: “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” If we can trust Jesus to do His part, which is to be the good, righteous, merciful, gracious, and holy judge, we should be glad to do our part—forgive, let go of bitterness, and joyfully seek reconciliation with anyone who sins against us.
So, no matter where you fall on the spectrum of end-times views and beliefs, the one thing we can all agree upon is that Jesus’ Second Coming should make a difference in our lives. I encourage you to examine your own life as you prepare for this Sunday’s celebration.
Pastor Aaron Robb