LOOKING FOR HIS RETURN by Brian Plummer

“In the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”   Matthew 26:64 (NLT)

Nearly every society maintains stories of long-gone heroes who will return someday.  Ireland’s mythological Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Fianna warriors are sleeping in a cave somewhere in Ireland and will awaken to defend the island in the hour of her greatest need.  Mexico’s Aztec and Mayan deity Quetzalcoatl went away in the distant past and promised to return to restore glory to his people.  The Greeks, Romans, Vikings, and Hindus all have stories illustrating the concept of a god or warrior or “great one” who will return at some point in the future.  Even the United States has its own “returning god” myth-creator in H. P. Lovecraft.  What is it about these stories that draws us so?  Is it the sense of expectation?  restoration?  the longing for a distant golden past that will come again someday?  or could it be (as in Lovecraft’s case) ominous fear at the changing of the status quo?

As Christians, we worship a God Who came to Earth and lived among us two millennia ago.  We’ve had the stories of Jesus passed down to us in both written and oral form, and we worship Him and connect with Him, albeit in a non-visual way.  We know by faith that He’s there (read Hebrews 11), but we’re frustrated that we can’t see Him, can’t touch Him, can’t physically be in His presence.  This, I believe, is part of the dissatisfaction we feel with living in this world:  we can’t physically be with the One we love.  Just like we miss our loved ones who have gone away on an extended trip or soldiers miss their families while deployed overseas, there is an element of bittersweet longing that actually enhances the love we feel.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, does it not?  The thought of the eventual reunion actually fills us with joy, and we find ourselves refreshed as we remind ourselves why we love the one we’re waiting for.

What a reunion it will be when we see Jesus face-to-face!  Can you picture seeing Him for the first time?  Can you imagine your heart leaping in your chest, your knees going weak?  Can you picture yourself turning to the person next to you, screaming like a little kid, “Lookit!”  Can you envision the joy you will feel when history is finally fulfilled and comes to an end as you look into your Lover’s eyes?  Far greater than any myth, we live for this reality—the reality of our Savior’s return.

B.P.

Think about it:  Is my hope in Christ’s return real to me? Do I live like it is?