Dear First Pres,
Yet again, this week we are faced with the reality that we live in a world filled with evil. It is almost unfathomable to imagine the hate that must fill a person’s heart to motivate yesterday’s mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. My heart breaks for the loved ones of those killed yesterday; my heart breaks about the continuance of these kinds of scenes in our world.
Advent, this season we’re in now, is a season for the Church to practice waiting. We’re waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. Yes, He first arrived on that night in Bethlehem when the angels proclaimed the good news to the shepherds in the fields nearby. But Advent isn’t just about waiting until Christmas to celebrate the Messiah’s first coming. Advent is about waiting for the Messiah, Jesus, to come again.
The Scripture is clear; He will come again. And when He does He will bring His justice through His ultimate judgment – “two sides of the same coin” as Pastor Lana said on Sunday (see Malachi 4). He will bring everything under His headship (see Ephesians 1:10). 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 (Rev. 21.4). He is coming again; of this we can be certain. And, for those who are in Christ, His coming will be a very good day.
If it were up to me, that day would have come already. I’m tired of opening the newspaper to stories such as these of violence, and hatred, and injustice. But, as you already know, it isn’t up to me. In fact, Jesus told the disciples when they asked about the timing of his ultimate restoration, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). So, we wait. We wait with hope – not just with wishful thinking or positive thoughts, but with confident expectation that at the right time, God the Father will send the Son again and He will have His way. No evil will be able to withstand His judgment; all things will be made right.
And we wait by continuing to live out the mission given to us in Christ. In Acts 1:7 Jesus told the disciples it wasn’t for them to know the timing of His ultimate restoration, but He didn’t stop there. He continues in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Beloved, it’s okay to be tired of these kinds of events in our world, but may we never lose our hope. Our Sovereign Lord will return to make all things new. As we wait, may we live as His witnesses so that more and more of our neighbors may know the good news of Jesus. “Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus” (Rev. 20:22).
Blessings,
Jeremy
P.S. Here’s a song that the Holy Spirit used to minister to me today. Even So Come performed by Kristian Stanfill.
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