Titus 2:13

Titus 2:13: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

Notice that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is said to be our “blessed hope”. Today many Christians don’t believe this; they dread the return of Christ because they believe it will interrupt their lives. “There’s still a lot of things I want to do,” they complain. “Is it really so wrong to want Jesus to stay away until I’ve had my fun?”

My pastor addressed this very question and said no, there’s nothing wrong with that attitude at all. I strongly disagree. I think it’s horrifying that we’re so caught up with our lives that we actually don’t want Jesus to come back. Is what we’re doing really more important than the Second Coming, the raising of the dead, and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth? We are supposed to love God with all of our hearts; what kind of love says “Please stay away as long as possible”? That’s not love; that’s utter selfishness and cold-heartedness! No lover looks at their beloved and says “Please go away and stay away for a long time, because my life is much better when you’re not around”. That’s a horrible thing to say – but that is exactly how many people feel about Christ.

In fact, this attitude is so foreign to the Bible that it makes me wonder if these people are actually saved at all. One of the hallmarks of being saved is a passionate love for Jesus. The whole reason Jesus rejected the church of Laodicea was because they were lukewarm; they had left their first love. How can anyone think that they’re saved when they have no love for God? At the very least this means that there’s something seriously wrong with their walk with God. Telling Jesus “Please don’t come back” is siding with the devil, who doesn’t want Jesus to come back either. Do we really want to be taking Satan’s side on this issue?