Today I’m sharing a piece written by Glenn Parkinson, the retired former pastor of my church. He writes: “Biblical hope expectantly waits for what we know we cannot find in this life, but are certain will be ours when Christ returns.” Hope like this can transform our every day lives!
Well worth a read (and a subscription)!
What Christ’s Return Means to Me
A bit of a detour today. I’ve considered including historical bits in the blog since long before it was a blog, and have been collecting ideas. I just found one for January 6th the other day and decided to make it the first, given the timing. This one is quoted from Warren Wiersbe’s “Be Alive” commentary on John 3:14.
“On January 6, 1850, a snowstorm almost crippled the city of Colchester, England, and a teenage boy was unable to get to the church he usually attended. So he made his way to a nearby Primitive Methodist chapel, where an ill-prepared layman was substituting for the absent preacher. His text was Isaiah 45:22 – “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” For many months this young teenager had been miserable and under deep conviction, but though he had been reared in church (both his father and grandfather were preachers), he did not have the assurance of salvation.
The unprepared substitute minister did not have much to say, so he kept repeating the text. “A man need not go to college to learn to look,” he shouted. “Anyone can look—a child can look!” About that time, he saw the visitor sitting to one side, and he pointed at him and said, “Young man, you look very miserable. Young man, look to Jesus Christ!” The young man did look by faith, and that was how the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon was converted.”[1]
[1] Wiersbe, Warren. Be Alive (John 1-12) (1986). P. 55.
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made [Christs righteousness] my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14
In the life of the Apostle Paul, author of Philippians, “what lies behind” includes overseeing the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:57-58), and “ravaging the church, and entering house after house, [dragging] off men and women and committ[ing] them to prison.” (Acts 8:3) We all have different shameful things in our past, but God forgets them. His purpose is to always make us more like Christ, so we press on and strain to move forward. The prize is worth it.
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever”
– Psalm 136:1-3
Thanksgiving only makes sense if someone exists to thank, who is good, and has the power to provide what we are thankful for. Fortunately all of those things are true!
Thanksgiving also has more meaning when focused on what is lasting, trustworthy and satisfying:
“There is much in life that is not satisfying. We may be satisfied for a time. But the pleasures soon pale and satisfaction fades. When we are young and life lies before us, the offerings of the world are not bad, it seems. There is an appeal to fame or wealth or companionship. The hunger of the imagination paints our goals in bright colors. We live on dreams. But what happens when the future doesn’t bring what we ask for? What happens in the face of suffering, death, or sorrow? What happens in old age? If there is nothing more to life than the things that time takes from us, life becomes misery. On the other hand, if we are united to the living Lord Jesus Christ, who has gone before to prepare for us a place in his presence, then life retains its meaning and is filled with joy.” – November 24 entry from a James Montgomery Boice devotional “Come to the Waters” compiled by D. Marion Clark.
“Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs. It meets the greatest need; it costs the greatest price; and it brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results.” – Warren Wiersbe
Wiersbe’s quote applies universally, but the immediate reference was to Mark 2:5 – “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.'” Four friends of the paralytic could not get him to Jesus because of the crowds, so they lowered him through the roof. Jesus healed the man’s paralysis, but more importantly healed the man’s separation from God by forgiving his sins.
Among the gathered crowd were religious leaders – scribes – who perhaps came early to investigate this new rabbi who was attracting a following. They may have considered this their duty, as outlined in Deuteronomy 13, especially noting in verses 1-2 that prophets would arise, able to perform signs and wonders, but seeking to lead people to other gods. Unfortunately, they came to the wrong conclusion because Jesus did not fit their preconceived notions.
We all have notions that require forgiveness, including the notion that we don’t need forgiveness more than we need physical healing and assistance. Fortunately forgiveness is available in Him, as well as the sure hope of future healing.
