Love His Appearing

2 Timothy 4:8 – “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

All truly born again Christians believe in the second coming of Christ, but one wonders how many are actually longing for this event? Because they are enjoying the pleasures of this world so much and have sunk their roots so deeply here, few are thrilled by the possibility of the Savior’s soon return.

George E. Guille, a fine young Bible teacher, once noted that a certain orthodox preacher in Texas never mentioned the second coming of Christ in his sermons. He went to him and inquired, “Dear brother what do you think about the return of our Savior?” “I’m so busy preaching about His first coming,” came the reply, “I never dwell on that.” Mr. Guille replied, “I see. Well I just wanted to find out whether you ‘love His appearing.'” Without another word, he walked away. The arrow struck deeply into the pastor’s heart. He took his Bible and searched all the passages about the return of Christ. He found that he had been neglecting a very prominent doctrine. Gathering together the Church officials, he said, “I’m resigning – I realize I haven’t been faithful to my calling, for I haven’t preached the whole counsel of God.” An old deacon got up and with joy exclaimed, “Brother, don’t resign – we’ve been praying about this for a long time, and we can see that the Lord has now answered our prayers.” The pastor stayed on, preaching frequently on the second coming, and his ministry was revolutionized. Sinners were not only saved, but saints were edified, challenged to win the lost and their lives purified because of his new perspective concerning God’s prophetic program.

So, dear friend, let me challenge you to be ‘busy about the Master’s business,’ share the gospel with others – let your light so shine that others might see. Then you will not dread His appearing – you will LOVE HIS APPEARING?