Our Ultimate Hope

I'm sure all of us had times in our lives when we awaited some great event. Whether it was graduation from high school or college, or a visit from a long-lost friend, there's that anticipation that kept us on our toes. We didn't get involved in activities which took up our whole attention but kept in mind the approaching event.

Christ's return as the King of Kings is one event all born-again believers long for. As Paul wrote in Titus 2:13 (BBE), we must be "Looking for the glad hope, the revelation of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ;"

The Apostle Paul also admonished his readers, and us too, to be watchful and not distracted by pleasures like our worldly neighbours. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (BBE), "But let us, who are of the day, be serious, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and on our heads, the hope of salvation."

We also read about staying alert for the Lord's return in 1 Peter 1:13 (BBE)which says,  "So make your minds ready, and keep on the watch, hoping with all your power for the grace which is to come to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;"

Though we don't like to admit it, we're in a war with Satan and his demons. That's why Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:3-5 (BBE), "Be ready to do without the comforts of life, as one of the army of Christ Jesus. A fighting man, when he is with the army, keeps himself free from the business of this life so that he may be pleasing to him who has taken him into his army. And if a man takes part in a competition he does not get the crown if he has not kept the rules."

We also have those wonderful promises in the last book in the Bible. Revelation 21:4 (BBE) promises us, "And he will put an end to all their weeping; and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain; for the first things have come to an end."

On Saturday, if Christ doesn't return first, I hope to post about a beautiful song and a pleasureable activity I remember from childhood.

Saturday Song: Frumpy, "Life Without Pain"

One thing is for sure, living can be painful. Many people suffer from chronic pain. Others have emotional pain plaguing them. And it's safe to say that all of us would love to live in a world without pain.

Listen to this German rock band's song here:

 A day will come when we truly will live in a world without pain and loss. Isaiah 25:8 (BBE) prophesies, "He has put an end to death for ever; and the Lord God will take away all weeping; and he will put an end to the shame of his people in all the earth: for the Lord has said it."

Likewise, John echoes this prophecy in Revelation 21:4 (BBE). "And he will put an end to all their weeping; and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain; for the first things have come to an end."

Furthermore, what we suffer now, be it from Adam's fall or our stand for Christ, will seem inconsequential in that new universe. Romans 8:18 (BBE) encourages, "I am of the opinion that there is no comparison between the pain of this present time and the glory which we will see in the future."

Better still, we'll see our Lord as he is, reigning in glory, when that wonderful day comes to pass. We read in 1 John 3:2 (BBE) how we will bask in his glory and be fit to be in his presence. "My loved ones, now we are children of God, and at present it is not clear what we are to be. We are certain that at his revelation we will be like him; for we will see him as he is."

All people need to do is to surrender the running of their lives to Christ in order to be in his new world. May whoever reads this be in that number of believers called and chosen by the Lord to be at his side.

On Monday, I hope to post about The hope of Christmas. With all the distraction of the secular world, we need to keep the newborn King in mind.

Saturday Song: The Electric Light Orchestra, "Mr. Radio"

To most people, a radio is just a box which plays music or gives news reports. They have only a vague idea of how it receives signals and converts them into sound waves which our ears can hear.

But for me, my radio was my lifeline to the outside world. In my Deliverance from Jericho memoir, I wrote about how having my own radio made me feel a little less depressed at that institution.

One November afternoon in 1969, I happened to pick up a radio station from Edmonton, Alberta. Since my home town of Fort Saskatchewan was only twenty miles north of that city, I felt like I made contact with home by receiving that station.

The Electric Light Orchestra recorded a song about the comforting presence of a radio on their first album. I readily identified with it because of my experience at the blind school.

Hear this song here.

We Christians are also exiles, even though we've never set foot in heaven. But we do have a home waiting for us there when we die. John 14:2-3 (KJV) reminds us with the words of Jesus, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 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."

The Word of God is our lifeline to heaven, as is prayer. Just as I felt a connection to my home through receiving that station, so we have an assurance of better things to come. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:18 (KJV), "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

A day will come when this world will be replaced with a better one. Revelation 21:4 (KJV) tells us this wonderful news. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Just as I left Jericho Hill School and never returned to it, so we won't have to live in captivity anymore. We'll be united with Jesus and all the faithful who followed him.

So, what do you think of what I've written and this song? Please let me know in the box below.

On Monday, I'll post about another Bible verse which people misquote and misapply.