Waiting With Expectation
For
a couple of days this past week, I joined the thousands (probably millions) of
people in the New York City Metro region, who commute to Manhattan via public
transportation each day. I had the
privilege to attend a pastors’ conference at the Times Square Church. Rather than drive in and pay the tolls and parking,
as well as deal with the traffic, I decided to take the bus (which, by the way,
is something I haven’t done in a few years).
So, early in the morning I joined people all over the region who stand
in lines at bus stops waiting for their bus to show up and transport them to the
heart of New York City. Not only that,
but later in the day, I wanted to get uptown to visit someone in the hospital.
Since I didn’t have my car that meant taking the subway. Once again, I joined
the millions of people all over the City who regularly stand on subway
platforms waiting for their train to come.
As I
waited for my bus and then the train, I couldn’t help but notice how many
people would periodically glance down the road to see if their bus was coming
or down the tracks to see if they could catch a glimmer of the headlights of
the train. Why? Well, if you think about it, people only stand on line waiting
for a bus or a train because they actually expect that bus or train to show
up. There would be no point in going to
the bus stop or to the train station if you didn’t think that the bus or train
was actually going to come. No one goes
to the bus stop or the train station hoping that, just maybe, someday, sometime
a bus or train will arrive. In other words, we wait with expectation.
The
New Testament believers were a group of people who were waiting—waiting for the
return of Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior. And, they were waiting filled
with the expectation that he was actually going to come. In many ways, they were like those people at
the bus stop who keep peering down the road looking for their bus; or, like
those people at the train station who keep their eyes on the tracks expecting
that at any moment they will see the lights of the train coming through the
dark.
So
the Apostle Paul wrote of the Corinthians, “…as you eagerly wait for
our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” (I
Corinthians 1:7 – NIV) He wrote of how
the Thessalonian believers were “…(waiting)
for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us
from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10 – NIV) And, to Titus he writes of how the believers
are to live, “…while we wait for
the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ…. “ (Titus 2: 13 – NIV)
I’m
reminded that as followers of Jesus Christ, we ought to be living our lives
with great expectation as we wait for the return of our Savior. He has made a promise that he will return.
Thus, as we live our lives here on this earth, doing what he has asked us to do
and living the way he has called us to live, we keep on glancing down the road
and peering down the tracks, expecting that at any moment, he just might show
up!
May
your heart today be filled with great expectation as you wait for the wonderful
return of our Lord!
“He who testifies to these things says,
“Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20 – NIV)
Have
a great day!
Pastor
Tim Harris
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