Anxiously Awaiting

Anxiously Awaiting

Read: Luke 21:25-33

“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Luke 21:28

“Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.”

—Gilbert Brenken

IN WORD Perhaps we have relegated this instruction to a future time we know not of. It is out there somewhere, a revelation for a generation that will one day see the heavens and earth shaken and shattered. We see no signs of the apocalypse, so we don’t stand up, lift up our heads, and savor the nearness of our redemption.

Why not? Isn’t this the appropriate posture for any Christian at any time? Perhaps our redemption is not yet here in the sense of Jesus’ second coming. But which of us knows when we will meet Him face-to-face? Regardless of our proximity to the revelation of Jesus in the air, our proximity to our last day in this body is always imminent. We do not know when we will die, so we must always be prepared.

This is no morbid exercise for the believer who knows his or her standing in Christ. We who have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus can take a welcoming stand, with heads lifted high, in anxious anticipation of seeing His glory. We have nothing to fear but sin, and since we believe He has saved us fully, we have nothing to fear at all. It’s true for any of us, wherever we are: Our redemption is drawing near.

IN DEED Few Christians hold this posture, and even fewer seek it. For some reason, many of us are not all that eager about our encounter with Jesus. Have we let guilt weigh us down? Consider the cleansing blood of Jesus. Have we let fear of death rob us of the joy of eternity? His perfect love casts out all of our fear (1 John 4:18). Have we let His holiness distance us? We have permission to draw near (Hebrews 4:16). Regardless of what confronts us—tribulation, distress, guilt, or death—a greater reality also confronts us: the glory of our merciful Savior. The final redemption is nothing to hide from. Let it draw near.