Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
A few weeks ago, I visited the library with my granddaughter. On the checkout desk there was a mesh enclosure in which several butterfly cocoons were suspended inside. The cocoons were unmoving, yet as my granddaughter rested her head on folded arms, she simply watched the seemingly dead grayish brown shrouds as they silently hung by a tiny appendage attached to a branchlike structure. Nothing was happening to them; they were as still as if they were frozen in time, yet her eyes never wandered from them as she quietly watched and waited. She knew that at the right moment, something glorious would happen… a beautiful butterfly would emerge! She didn’t know if this would be the day, so she carefully scanned the cocoons for a sign of their imminent coming.
When Jesus was buried, his disciples retreated to a safe place. Unsure of what the future held for them, they waited. For what? I can only speculate. Perhaps, like my granddaughter, they hoped for a favorable sign that something good would soon happen. Maybe they were just hoping for something…anything… that would replace the growing fear in their hearts. Maybe they sat quietly, huddled together, waiting, not knowing what to do, when suddenly all their fears were replaced with joyous celebration! Three days after the crucifixion, Jesus was alive! He had risen from the dead and appeared to His followers! From that moment on, His disciples were empowered to share the gospel message with the world… Jesus is alive! The Son of God has risen from the dead!
Today, we are in a waiting period as well. We see the signs all around us, but we are still waiting. For what? The “glorious appearing” of Jesus! In John 14, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to heaven to be with His Father for the specific purpose of preparing a place for those who believed in Him. He then added, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). Jesus is coming again! There is no other Biblical prophecy needing to be fulfilled before He returns, and so we wait.
Waiting does have its rewards. My granddaughter was rewarded for her patience. Yesterday, we went to the library again. The mesh enclosure was filled with multicolored butterflies flitting about, spreading their wings. The disciples were rewarded for their faithfulness when Jesus appeared to them in the Upper Room and they saw their risen Saviour. We, too, will be rewarded one day soon when we hear the shout and finally see our Lord Jesus Christ descending to meet us in the air!
As you celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, keep waiting expectantly… He could return today!
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
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“Oh, what a moment, when we see Jesus;
When we stand face to face in His embrace;
And thank Him for amazing grace,
Oh! what a moment, when we see Him.”
(excerpt from “Oh, What a Moment” by Squire Parsons)
Praise the Lord for this wonderful truth of Christ’s resurrection! And for His promise of His coming!
Thank you, Jayne, for sharing these devotions from your heart.
I’ve always loved this song (which I first heard at Old Suwanee!), and it gets sweeter as time goes by. I can’t wait to see my Saviour face to face, and then to rush into the arms of my mom and other loved ones who have gone on before. Oh, what a moment that will truly be!