Titus 2:11-14 – For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.
The appearing of Christ suddenly was what Paul called our ‘Blessed Hope’. In an instant of time the Lord Jesus Himself will appear to take His purchased possession, the Bride of Christ, to be with Him. This is the hope of the Christian life, we will see Christ for ourselves at His appearing and He will take us to be with Him forever. This was the comfort Jesus gave His disciples the last night He spent with them. Remember what He said? “I am going away to prepare a place for you, but I am coming again to take you with Me so you will be with Me.” This is the hope that burns in the heart of every Christian encouraging us to live godly in this life so that we will be ready for Him at His coming. Here is how Matthew Henry described the Blessed Hope.
“This shows both the time of the fulfilling of our hope and the certainty and greatness of that hope. The great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ, then, is the great God, not figuratively, but properly and absolutely; he is the true God. At his second coming he will reward his servants and bring them to glory with him….At the glorious appearing of Christ, the blessed hope of Christians will be reached. The glory of the great God and our Savior will then break out like the sun. The work and intention of the Gospel are to raise the heart to wait for this second coming of Christ. Let us then pay attention to this hope.”
The world is filled with minefields designed to get us off track from our Christian faith. Keeping our lamps trimmed and burning will keep us from falling into a ditch of despair or compromise as that hope challenges us to live godly and share our faith with others. The world is dangerous and dark but the light of Christ is shining bright in the darkness of these days. Be assured, Christ is coming soon.
