A prayer I've found myself repeating somewhat sporadically over the past few years is one in which I ask for Jesus to return again.
In times of our most utter exhaustion and heartbreak it's somewhat natural to let out this cry. I mean, doesn't scripture say "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)? That sounds like a great deal to me. So let's get those trumpets blaring and have a beam of light zip me up like something out of Star Trek. Why would we not want this? I began this prayer, like I stated, a few years ago for what I think were two reasons. One reason being I saw media spitting out more and more stories of racial injustice, senseless killings and massive terrorist attacks. I also heard the "Jesus, come" prayer echoed throughout churches, groups of friends, and almost anywhere that Christians exist. I thought to myself, "If Jesus coming back means an end to all of those bad things and a hurt-free life for me, then I could get behind a prayer like that." But what about my friends that don't know God? Should I say, "Come back Jesus...but wait like 6 months. Could be a little longer. I'll let you know"? Doesn't sound right, does it? A question I didn't stop to ask myself at first is one that I've been wrestling with more recently. If our world seems to be getting worse and Jesus has the immediate power to put that to an end, why hasn't it happened yet? A phrase I've loosely tossed around myself is one of "Society is going to only get worse before Jesus returns". While I'm not exactly sure if this is true or false, it can cause misguided ideas to be thrust into our hearts. This can begin to make us blind to what we are called to do now as Christians, and reveal a lack of trust in God's plan. Is Jesus just letting shit hit the fan so He can look really powerful when He comes back and overthrows everything? If stuff is only going to get worse, why do anything good now? The Bible does speak of the time nearing Jesus' return to us a few times. One being in the book of 2 Timothy in chapter 3 (speaking of the end times): "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." "Evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse". Absolutely. I believe that. Sin has been rotting our earth to the core and from the core, so that makes perfect sense. However, does that mean that more and more believers won't be made? Absolutely not. It is important to note that God is in control of His return to earth, and knows when that will be. Jesus didn't ascend into heaven and years later (No idea how time works in heaven, but for the sake of the analogy, let's just roll with it) say: "CRAP. Things are getting pretty bad, I didn't think this was what would happen. I should go back!" Ultimately, I'd be wrong to say it's bad to ask for Jesus to return (check out the very last verse of The Bible). It is absolutely fair and a praising testament to God's character to desire Him to come and fix what we've horribly train-wrecked. But do I have a trust that there's a reason He hasn't come yet? Or am I just sitting on the sidelines and cowering about the darkness of this world? I believe it's important to focus on my heart behind praying that prayer. In Paul's letter to the church of Phillippi, in the first chapter, he writes about his inner turmoil of wanting to be with Jesus or wanting to preach the gospel to those on earth who haven't been saved. He is torn, and even seems to contemplate taking his own life because of how much he hates living in a broken and fallen world (ESV, verse 22). Paul's conclusion is astounding, and one that I want to adapt into my own heart: "I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith..." "Convinced of this", Paul states. While he understands that to be with Jesus now is our definite hope (Titus 2:13), he knows that he has been kept alive for a reason. He knows that Jesus hadn't returned yet for a reason. Most importantly, he knows that Jesus is soon to come, so we must hurry (1 Thessalonians 5:2). A man in my life much wiser than me proposed a question to me when I first entered college. "What can we not do in heaven that we can do on earth?" "Well, sin, I guess. Pain or suffering won't be there either," I answered. "True. But there's one good thing," he said. "One good thing on earth that we can't do in heaven. And that's tell people about Jesus who don't know Jesus". This is what Paul is convinced of. He had prodded himself to understand that there is NOTHING good for him on this earth that he can't and won't one day experience in heaven EXCEPT one thing... Telling people about Jesus. But, honestly, what the hell does that mean? Do we say "Hey, everyone suffering across the world, just pray this prayer and everything will be fine one day! No more tears or pain! Just accept it!" I don't think that's how Jesus operates now or when he was physically on earth. He clearly cared for the sufferings of people and the tenderness of life (Feeding the hungry, healing the lame, weeping with the brokenhearted). So, what WAS His message? What do we need to be telling people, especially when it seems like stuff is getting worse? Dallas Willard, a Christian philosopher who passed away in 2013, had this to say when asked what the Christian gospel truly was if it's not just about how to get into heaven once we die: "It's how to get into heaven before you die", said Willard. "That's why the New Testament routinely treats you as if you've already died...because it is that you've made a transition from a life on your own to a life that God Himself is living in His kingdom, and you get to be a part of that..." "...what He preached was the availability of the kingdom of God to everyone, wherever they were, and whoever they were." After hearing this, I let my thoughts loose in my journal: ...Where do we believe heaven to end, if God is truly everywhere? Jesus says 'whoever keeps His words will not taste or see death'...how can this be? We all must die one day. A true look at the Christian life brings understanding that death has already happened to us all, and we have been chosen to be resurrected along with Christ. Therefore, our heart ceasing to beat will be no more than a mere transition into a more physical heaven, a more glorious one, but still as real as we had the opportunity to experience on earth. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". We must strive to grasp His longing for us to view our lives now as more than a waiting room...our hope is what we will receive after our body's physical death, but also what we can choose to receive right now: Heaven on earth. ...So, what must we tell others? We must tell them the availability of the kingdom of God. Show them that they are worth that reality. That God wants them to believe they can experience heaven before they die. Heaven on earth. "A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul." These words of the late British preacher Charles Spurgeon have a lot to teach me in regards to our immediate purpose. Let us not settle for a faith that believes that Jesus was only concerned with our afterlife, and not our current life as well. Let us believe the whole Jesus. Let this belief spur us on to take action with this prayer we've been discussing. If we desire to pray for Jesus to come back, we MUST be willing to tell others about WHY we want him to come back. Praying that Jesus would is great. But if that's the only reason we were still here, is to pray that prayer, then I doubt we'd still be here. God has bigger plans. I've been called into action. Are things supposed to get worse or better before Jesus comes back? I'm not entirely sure what either of those would look like. Do I know when He is coming back or have a general clue? Not in the slightest. But this should press me even MORE to run with what I do have- His words at the end of Matthew: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” And into Acts: And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” I believe that Jesus knew we'd be asking these questions of how to pray for his return, and it's probably similar questions to what the disciples were thinking when they were gazing into heaven. "Is He coming back? When? Do we just hope and wait in the meantime?" The angels that come to them are what I believe to be God's answer to our long winded guesses about what to think of this (hence this rambling blog post). Why am I just standing and waiting? Trust that He'll come when the time is right! There's work to be done!
3 Comments
not patrick
10/2/2016 05:49:55 pm
nice blog
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Julia jamison
10/4/2016 05:53:49 am
I've been asking myself a lot of the same questions lately so this was really awesome to read! Go Christopher this is great
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Sarah
10/5/2016 06:42:30 am
What a great reminder that our real purpose is here on Earth! He calls us to be fishers of men and to spread the gospel. Sure, our end game looks way more appealing with our reward being in Heaven, but we can't just sit on the sidelines and hope that it comes sooner than later!
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AuthorSenior at The Ohio State University. Full time idealist and part time realist. Archives
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