Don’t Miss It!

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. ¹³ For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

¹⁵ So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

¹⁸ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. ¹⁹ For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. ²⁰ Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, ²¹ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. ²² For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. ²⁴ We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. ²⁵ But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) – Romans 8:12-25 [NLT]

Diane and I went to see the Blue Angels flyover on Wednesday. We almost missed it altogether. We were looking in the wrong direction. We were not where we should have been. When the Blue Angels flew over – vapor trails streaming behind them, we saw them only through a small gap between two buildings. One second of glory. Many minutes of anticipation never to be gotten back. At least we did see them.

When it comes to the end of the world, there will be no missing it. There will be no doubt. There will be no obstructed view. There will be a clear presence of Jesus, coming in the clouds for all to see. The Bible even says, “every eye will see him – even those who pierced him” (Revelation 1:7).

But it is possible to miss seeing Jesus for who he truly is. There are those who think Jesus to be a killjoy, one who takes away life rather than gives it. There are those who think Jesus is a myth and a delusion. There are those who think Jesus is a good teacher, but not God in the flesh, a good example, but not the Savior of the World. They will miss seeing Jesus for who he is.

How might we miss this? If we are too tied to the cares of this world we can miss seeing Jesus for who he is. If we are not deeply rooted in the grace and truth of Scripture we can have our joy and life stolen by Satan. If we are too little in fellowship with other believers we can be led astray and fall into unbelief and despair.

But those who know Jesus to be our true Savior, our hope, joy and crown will delight to see him in that Day. It will be a great relief and the end of great travail. We who believe in Jesus and trust in him will delight to see him. The whole earth and all of creation will join in praise to God for his deliverance.

One more thing we will not miss: our broken sin-infected bodies. Sickness, soreness, feebleness, and weakness will be left behind. All will be set right – including our physical bodies. That will be a glorious day and delightful deliverance for which we must now wait in hope.