When did you last think about the return of Jesus, the day when he comes back to earth? This season of Advent (a word which means “coming”) is designed to help us do just that. As we get ready to celebrate the first coming of the Lord as the babe of Bethlehem, we look forward to his second coming as the king of glory. As the Collect for Advent Sunday puts it, the one who “came to us in great humility” will “come again in his glorious majesty.”
This is no more than Jesus himself promised. He told his disciples of the day “the Son of Man … comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels”, and he warned the high priest at his trial: “you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 8:38; 14:62). It is a day that no-one will miss.
His coming is an encouragement to those who are suffering – to be patient, and to hold on until that day; it is worth persevering. It is a warning to those who are living without God, or living carelessly, that there is a day of judgment coming. It is a help to those who are fighting sin to know that the struggle is worth it; the victory will be theirs. It is a source of joy for all who love him that one day we will see him and be with him for ever. See him coming…