The Waiting of the Second Advent

If you missed the last post, please read The Waiting of Advent first. This week the focus is: how we are to wait for what hasn’t happened yet? How do we wait when we have unmet desires? And especially how do we wait for the second and final arrival of Christ? A reminder, these thoughts were generated by the study of Our Hope Has Come as I led our life group through.

Though we are never given exact dates for Christ’s return, we are told what we should be doing. The Great Commission, a few of Jesus’ last words to His disciples, is found in Matthew 28:18-20.

“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

And when Jesus was asked when His second coming would occur, He told them this:

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:7-8

Go and make Jesus known in our world. Be a witness wherever you go. This is more important than knowing when He would return. This is also how we wait, not only for Jesus to come back, but as we pray and long for those things that just haven’t happened yet in our own lives.

Another thing we are do to is what Paul told the church in Thessalonica:

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

We are to lift each other up in the body of Christ. Our Christian sisters need our encouragement, and so do we!

The reason we can wait, and still be about Kingdom work as we wait, is the Holy Spirit. Read about Him in John 14:15-31. Jesus provided the Holy Spirit so the disciples could follow faithfully and face anything God allowed after Jesus “went away.” It is also the way we wait and follow faithfully, serving Kingdom purpose…until He comes. We are never alone as we wait. And we can experience peace even when life on earth is filled with turmoil.

Here’s how Paul says we are able to wait, faithfully serve, and experience His peace this Christmas:

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-25

He is completely faithful! So, how well are you waiting? Are you anxious and frustrated, or expectantly trusting Jesus? Are you faithfully serving Him, making Him known in our world, as you wait? Are you experiencing His peace as you wait?

Pray His Word back to Him as you trust His faithfulness in the wait.

For more posts on waiting, see the category “Waiting.”

Banner photo by Michael & Diane Weidner on Unsplash