Scripture declares that “we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, NIV); we “eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1 Cor. 1:7, NIV). Are we eagerly awaiting the return of Christ? Do we love his future appearance?
Master teacher Walter Hilton (d. 1396) eloquently expresses how much he values desire for Jesus (though he was not specifically referring to his coming):
Certainly, I would rather feel and have a true desire and a pure longing in my heart for my Lord Jesus, even though I should see nothing of him at all with my spiritual eye, than have without this desire all the bodily penance of all men alive, all visions or revelations of angels appearing, songs and sounds, savors or smells, burnings and delights felt by the body—in short, all the joys of heaven and earth which I could have without this desire toward my Lord Jesus.
Scale of Perfection, trans. John P. H. Clark and Rosemary Dorward, The Classics of Western Spirituality (Mahwah, N. J.: Paulist Press, 1991), 120. This is found in Book 1, Chapter 47.
Notice how he was willing to crucify spiritual hedonism. Do we value our desire for Jesus more than all the spiritual sweetness he might give to us in this life? Is this desire so strong that it transforms your life?
Knowing that this vision of Jesus is in our future, it is important to ask ourselves if we will be proud of our lives when we see Jesus. God repeatedly instructs us to live so that we will be shameless and blameless when Jesus returns. “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” (1 John 2:28, ESV). Consider how great our sadness will be if we are embarrassed about our lives when Jesus appears. This is why Paul prays for the Thessalonians: “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23, NIV) and “that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes” (1 Thess. 3:13, NIV).
This pursuit of blamelessness is a major New Testament theme. Our future presentation before Christ and the importance of being blameless when we see him is also taught in 1 Cor. 1:8; 2 Cor. 4:14; Eph. 5:25-27; Phil. 1:10; Col. 1:21-23; 1 John 4:17; Jude 1:24. Do we not want to hear the Father’s words: “well done, good and faithful servant” (Mt. 25:21, ESV)? This is God’s vision for us and hopefully our vision as well. It is a sobering topic for meditation and one that should strengthen our resolve to live with an eternal perspective.
In this age we long to see and dwell in God’s splendor. After Jesus returns, having defeated evil and all that contaminates the goodness of creation, we will finally gaze forever on a new earth of pure goodness more beautiful than we ever could have imagined on the old earth. We will gaze on God’s beauty which has been enchanting our hearts and drawing us to him. This is what fuels our heart’s desire to live a blameless life.
