LOVE HIS APPEARING

2 Tim.4:6-8 – For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

When you start talking about the Second Coming of Christ often all the theological blockers start showing up. Pre-trib, post-trib, premillennial, amillenial, post millennial, preterism and partial preterism. Got it?! Paul apparently didn’t have it perfectly sorted himself, he was fixed on just loving His appearing. If you are in love with Jesus and joyfully anticipate His return I think you are good. At the end of the day it is about the heart, actually having a love for the Lord and looking forward to seeing Him. Here is how John Piper describes this.

“A crown of righteousness is promised to those who love the second coming of Christ. We pray for his appearing, because we love his appearing. The prayer “Come, Lord Jesus” is rooted in something deeper: “I love your appearing!” This book is about the reality that awakens such love and how that awakening happens. This love involves desiring, longing, and hoping. It is not an action of the body. It is a spiritual affection of the heart. By spiritual, I mean brought into being and formed by the Holy Spirit. It is not surprising that the Holy Spirit would bring into being the heart’s love for the coming of Christ, for the Spirit’s most essential work in the human heart is to glorify Jesus. Jesus says of the Spirit, “He will glorify me”.

In today’s passage Paul was thinking about seeing Jesus himself. Today’s words were written by Paul possibly moments before his death. He knew he would see the Lord soon and he was ready, he wanted Timothy and the church to be ready too. What qualifies us to be ready? It is our heart, our heart’s affection.

How can we have our hearts be in love with the Lord? That is the work of the Spirit. It begins with our conversion, our sins are washed away and we are clothed with His righteous garments. Next, the love of God is poured into us when we are filled with the Spirit. His Spirit makes Jesus real to us and His soon return real to us. From that moment our heart begins to anticipate His return. There is reserved a crown of righteousness for all those who love His appearing.