November 6: AT HIS COMING

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2

There is no higher privilege in all the world than to be adopted into the family of God. We have a heavenly Father who sees fantastic potential for each of His children. He knows our value even when we do not have a clue. Could He have paid a higher price than the life of His Son?

Too easily we lose our grasp upon His promises because of our faulty perception of His character. The devil has done much of his most effective work by using professed people of God to misrepresent Him.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

It is the worthiest of endeavors to earnestly seek the true character of the Creator as revealed in His Word, being diligent to rightly divide it. This means allowing Scripture to interpret itself. It means listening to the Holy Spirit who will not mislead you (see John 16:13). If we study under the Holy Spirit’s power, His Word will lay our soul bare on the operating table of the Great Physician so that He can perform surgery. He “divides” us from our sin so that we come out alive at the end of time!

The arrival of Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords will be the bright and indescribably glorious climax of this world’s history. His word describes the reactions of both the prepared and the unprepared for that Day. Sadly, those who have believed the lies that the devil has spread about God will be in a state of sheer terror* at His coming. They have clung to sin while refusing to allow themselves to be adopted into His family. They do not love Him because they believe things about Him that are false. The brightness of His coming will be unbearable for the unprepared (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

For His faithful ones, to see Him as He is will be a joy more intense than any joy ever before experienced. Those who know Him (to know Him is to love Him!) will be enabled, in new bodies, to behold His glory. To see Him as He is will be the ultimate fulfillment of what we have come to know of Him through His revelation of Himself to us.

But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 1 Corinthians 15:23

*see Isaiah 2:10, Revelation 6:15-16