“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
(Colossians 3:4)
Christ is not just the giver of life to His people; He is their life. Their present life is hidden with Him in God, and their future glory is inseparably bound to His appearing. The believer can therefore look beyond the instability of the present world toward the revelation of Christ. This makes His coming the great hope toward which the Christian life is ordered.
If You have ever felt the tremor of an earthquake, You realize just how quickly our sense of security can disappear. When the ground beneath us shakes, the temporary nature of everything on earth becomes real. Such natural events and disasters remind us that this world is not sufficient for an immortal creature.[1] What appears stable can be overturned in a moment, while the things above remain secure.
Christ therefore warns His people to watch and be ready. His coming will be sudden, and even death itself can come with equal suddenness. The only proper response for the child of God to these realities is holy preparedness. The servant is blessed whom His Lord finds faithfully doing His duty when He comes.
Readiness is essential, because simple escape from a temporal calamity is no guarantee of eternal safety. Someone may survive an earthquake and yet remain unprepared for death. He may be spared for a time and yet waste the very space for repentance that mercy has granted him.
Multiple warnings from Scripture increase responsibility. The flood in Noah’s day, the destruction of Sodom, and the judgments that fell upon Jerusalem stand as recorded admonitions. Yet those who live under the clearer light of the gospel possess even greater responsibility because a greater revelation has been given, and Christ Himself has spoken from heaven. The more clearly grace is revealed, the more serious it becomes to continue in darkness while having access to the light.
Yet for those who belong to Christ, the prospect of His coming is glorious. The coming judgment that terrifies those who choose to remain in darkness is also the threshold of the believer’s promised glory.
Christ is worthy to be worshiped because He is the believer’s present life, future glory, and only security when all temporal things are shaken. The world passes away, but life hidden in Christ does not. Earthly foundations fail, but union with Him remains. His appearing will be the fulfillment of the believer’s hope.
Contemplations:
- You Are My Life While Everything Else Passes. The world changes, possessions fade, bodies weaken, and earthly security can disappear suddenly. Yet You remain. I adore You because my true life is not rooted in what can be shaken. It is hidden with You in God. Teach me to feel the difference between what is temporary and what is eternal. Let every reminder of the world’s instability loosen my affections from what cannot last and make You increasingly precious as the One who cannot be lost.
- Your Coming Is the Great Horizon Before Me. You promised to appear, and when You appear, Your people shall appear with You in glory. I adore You for giving the Christian life such an end. Let that future reality shape my present. Let the certainty of Your coming order my priorities and keep me from living as though this present world were permanent.
- Your Warnings Are Mercies. When circumstances rattle what I thought was secure, let me recognize Your kindness in the warning. You do not owe me another day, another opportunity, or another call to repentance. Yet I adore Your patience that does not immediately close the door. Help me see that being temporally spared is meant to turn my thoughts toward eternal things.
- Glory Lies Beyond the Shaking. You have promised more than the survival of this present world. The heavens and the earth as they now are will not remain forever, yet Your promise stands. New heavens and a new earth await, where righteousness shall dwell. I adore You because the final word is not destruction but glory for those who are Yours. Let me look through the dissolution of temporary things toward the everlasting inheritance that is connected to Your appearing.
Prayer (Adoration):
Lord Jesus, I adore You as my life, my hope, and the One whose appearing will bring Your people into glory.
Everything in this present world is unstable. Earth, possessions, health, plans, and earthly comforts can be shaken or removed. Yet You remain unchanged, and the life of Your people is hidden with You in God.
Teach me to worship You above every temporary good. Raise my affections toward the things above, where You are, and make the coming revelation of Your glory more real to me than the present attractions of the world.
I adore You for warning before You judge. Every providence that awakens, every reminder of death, every call to watchfulness, and every space given for repentance is mercy. Let me never treat such warnings lightly.
Keep me ready for Your coming. Let my loins be girded, my lamp burning, my conduct holy, and my prayers watchful.
I praise You that judgment is not the end of the story for those who belong to You. You have promised new heavens and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells. You will appear, and Your people shall appear with You in glory.
When everything that can be shaken is shaken, let my heart rest in the One who cannot be moved. You are my life now, and You will be my glory then.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
1 John 3:2; John 11:25; Phil. 3:21; Psalm 73:24
[1] Benjamin Colman, The Judgments of Providence in the Hand of Christ, Early American Imprints, 1639-1800; No. 2853 (Boston: Printed for J. Phillips at the Stationers-Arms on the south side of the town-house, and T. Hancock at the Bible and Three Crowns near the town dock, 1727), 56-59.
