An Attitude of Anticipation

We once had a dog that slept outside our bedroom door every night. He leaned against the door, so in the morning when I opened it, he’d roll into the room. Then he’d jump to his feet and run around in circles because he knew he was going on a walk.

That’s how we ought to be as Christians who are waiting for the Lord’s return. Jesus said, “You yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching” (Luke 12:36–37 NKJV).

For instance, let’s say that a loved one whom you haven’t seen for months was coming to visit. They text you to say their plane just landed. Then you get another text saying they picked up their luggage. A few minutes later, you get another text telling you they’re on the way.

You’re anxiously awaiting their arrival. In fact, you can’t even wait until they knock on the door, so you run outside to meet them in the driveway.

We should be that way as we wait for the return of Jesus Christ. We should be looking forward to it, not dreading it. For example, if we knew that Jesus was coming back at 3:00 PM tomorrow, I’m sure we’d be wearing our Sunday smiles and our come-quickly-Jesus attitudes at 2:45.

So shouldn’t we live every day with that very attitude?

Jesus said, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Along with the apostle John, the answer of the true Christian always will be, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20 NKJV).

If there’s anything that would stop you from saying that today, then you shouldn’t hesitate to remove it from your life.