Coming soon! Being a Christian in the queues of life
How does it work: waiting for Jesus to come again?
We ask Jesus and the two apostles Paul and Peter.
Waiting sucks! What happens when you’re standing on the platform and the train doesn’t come? Already three minutes late, no announcement, no notice on the platform screen! «No, this can’t be happening! It’s always the same». Our dining table lamp, which we bought at the beginning of the year, has given up the ghost. We were told that it would take about 4–6 weeks to repair it. At the beginning of the week, I called to say that the six weeks were now over! Yes, they had to wait a long time for the spare parts. Today, week 7 is already over! I have to say about myself: I’m really bad at waiting. When I drive out of the underground car park and my wife is not yet at the exit, I yell at her: «What took you so long?
Are you patience itself, or are you more like me? We are eagerly waiting for the Covid19 infections to continue to fall and not torpedo our Christmas celebrations! When will there finally be a vaccine! When will all the pandemic measures finally be lifted? What are you waiting for? Sometimes you feel like you’re at the cinema: it’s always «coming soon» – but sometimes it takes a long time until the new film finally arrives! What happens when you have to wait? «What’s wrong? Where is it stuck? Why can’t I get an answer? Has something happened? Have they forgotten about me? Why won’t He let me hear?» Are these not also our reproachful questions when God keeps us waiting?
Advent is waiting time – waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ; then and now. They were waiting for Jesus then and we are doing it again! It was not an easy time when Jesus came into the world. The Romans ruled with a brutal hand. It was centuries of waiting until finally an angel from God appeared to the shepherds in the field and told them: «Do not be afraid! I bring good news for all people! The Saviour – yes, Christ the Lord – has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the City of David!» (Luke 2:10–11 NL)
It is not an easy time today either!!! World organisations have been working to halve world poverty and now we are back to where we were at the start. Unemployment figures are rising. Many businesses have gone bankrupt because of Covid19. Or we also think of the blatant persecution of Christians around the world. Christians suffer in prisons and labour camps. Churches are violently destroyed. Here and there, fear of terrorist acts is being stirred up anew, here in Switzerland and all over Europe! Shelterless and homeless refugees are looking for a place to live. Actually, there should be a run on Bibles now. A longing for Jesus, who gives us everything to live and to die. He should be in high demand now! He who has brought light and hope into this world! He who offers new life – with new content; with new meaning; with hope; with a future. The word «future» has an interesting prehistory: Until the 17th century it was not a time word at all! It meant «to come to; to come to». You must have also «Öppis zue cho lah…» in this pre-Christmas season! Soon the term «future» was replaced by the term «arrival». The future was then often used to describe the time ahead of us. From the 19th century onwards, pupils were taught verbs in the three tenses past, present and future. They had it easy with only three tenses!
It is very valuable for us to learn from these both meanings of the future. At Christmas, we celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ to us came into this world. And since Jesus» ascension, we have been waiting for his second coming, to us down come into this world. Then what happens to us is what John describes in his 1st letter: «My dear friends, we are already the children of God, and what we will be like when Christ returns we cannot even imagine. But we know that when he returns we will be like him, because we will see him as he really is».( 1 John 3:2 NL).
He will come to take believers with him, then we will be in the heavenly world. come! The good thing is that Jesus does not leave us waiting alone. In his farewell discourses, he promised in John 14 that he will not leave us orphans (John 14:18). Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to be very close to us. He dwells with his Father in us. What he promised shortly before his departure from this earth, he keeps: «I am with you every day until the end of the world». (Matt 28:20). Paul speaks of an «advance» that we have received through the Spirit: «He has put his seal on us as confirmation that we are now his own, and has given us his Spirit in our hearts as a pledge and down payment for what he still wants to give us.» (2 Corinthians 1:22 NGÜ).
How to wait?
The only question now is, how do we best wait for this mighty finale that we have before us at the end of time? I looked up three biblical persons to see what they recommend for us to wait for, namely Jesus and the two apostles Peter and John.
What tips do we get Jesus?
According to the motto «You can wait best if you do something», he gave the disciples an example by washing their feet before he left! His message was: Do the same! Remember my example! Don’t feel too good for the lowest service! His second tip goes in the same direction: Show each other in the congregation that you are fond of each other and love each other from the bottom of your hearts. If they observe this in you, they will wonder where we get this love from and will be more open to ask about Jesus» love. Jesus has also clearly said that he still has something in mind for you and me: «It is not you who have chosen me, but I have chosen you: I have appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last». (John 15:16 NGÜ).
He also clearly indicated that our wait for him will not be an easy time. We will have to endure a lot. Many people have hated and persecuted him and we will experience that too, he says. When Jesus comes again, he will totally surprise us all. In Matthew 24:44 he said he would come when no one thought of it! We are to be alert and ready at all times. Does being alert and waiting mean that we have to go into the day every morning knowing that it could be the last? Will that help? But the danger is great that our relationship with Jesus gets lost in our everyday stuff, along with our faith – and we all know that this can very well happen – that is why he calls us again and again: Stay awake! Pray and count on my strength and on my possibilities! Trust in me! Do not let your worries cover you! Jesus prays to the Father for us: «I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you preserve them from evil… » (John 17:15 LU). It is good to have people praying for you. In addition, you have prayer support from Jesus. Isn’t that brilliant!
What tips did the apostle give us Peter in his letters? He also says something about our everyday worries: we should cast them on Jesus and leave them with him (1 Peter 5:7) In the first letter in the second chapter he says to us: «People, you must not forget something, in this world you are only guests and strangers; this is not your home». Therefore, Peter warns, do not give in to the selfish desires of our human nature. What are these desires? I think of pleasure addiction, greed addiction, sex addiction where it is all about me alone: I want to enjoy, I still want to have this, I want sex – now and as I want! In the same letter Peter writes: «Be prudent, be vigilant! Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, always looking for a victim to devour. 9 Resist him by holding steadfastly to the faith». (1 Peter 5:8–9a).
It seems like a survival trail to me! Peter wants us not to lose our foothold in the faith and to reach the goal. Later he warns us against false teachers in the church. We are to be vigilant so that we are not carried away by false teachings. We should rather be careful to grow in knowledge! How do I put this into practice: «Grow in knowledge»? If you don’t understand something in the Bible, don’t just pass over it! Dig, research, read parallel passages, compare with other passages. And if you get stuck, ask others or, if you have access to it, read the interpretation in a Bible commentary. In this way you will grow in faith and gain more and more knowledge!
Finally, I knock on the door of Paul an. What tips does he have for us who are waiting? He encourages us to be there for each other: «Therefore, encourage one another and strengthen one another, as you are already doing» (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NL). We need each other. Fellowship among Christians is essential. Due to Corona, this is only possible to a limited extent, but we hope and pray that we will soon be able to meet again at our church events without fear and masks. Paul also encourages us not only to wait, but to become active: «While we still have time, we want to do good to all people, but especially to those who believe in Jesus Christ with us». (Galatians 6:10 Hfa).
Summary
- Waiting for the return of Jesus is no walk in the park. There we encounter temptations, false teachings, distractions; and on top of that, hatred and rejection. Life on this earth is challenging: injustice, selfishness and godlessness are on the rise, as are natural disasters, disease and poverty.
- The good thing about waiting for a long time is that as long as we wait, our faith can still grow and become stronger.
Moreover, God still offers us human beings his grace. The many dear people who are a concern to you and whom you wish from the bottom of your heart to find faith in Jesus Christ still have the chance to share with us the hope of eternal life. The waiting time is a sign of God’s love and patience with us humans. We can continue to build the Kingdom of God together and bear fruit for HIM. The darker it gets in this world, the brighter the light of Jesus shines in us and through us! So please, no end-time «lapping up»! We are a ray of hope for the world! In Jesus we have a glorious future. He says: «Behold! I am coming soon. Happy is he who follows the prophetic words of this book!» Amen.
