He Already Came!

Today’s Reading – 1 Peter 1 – 3; 1 John 1, 2

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Peter 3:3 & 4)

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;” (2 Peter 3:15)

I was a little anxious this morning as I approached the daily Bible reading and the task of expressing a thought from it for today’s post. Frankly, I wanted to write some thoughts regarding Christmas, but I also want to keep to the format that we have started with, which is to share thoughts that come from the daily reading. I must confess that I actually prayed that God would give me something from this passage that I could connect with the celebration of Christmas, and I believe He has answered that prayer.

Our text deals with the second coming of Christ which involves Christ first returning to remove His Bride (the Church from the earth. The passage reveals that in Peter’s day, and in ours, there are scoffers that doubt that Christ will ever return. There are even Christians that have a hard time believing that Christ’s return is imminent. I strongly disagree with their assessment. I believe that Christ could return at any moment; and frankly, it concerns me greatly. Don’t misunderstand, I am certainly looking forward to spending eternity with my Lord and with loved ones who are saved; but my problem is that I have many friends and loved ones who do not yet know Christ. It is my prayer and hope that the longer He delays His coming, the more people will be saved. I have some folks that I love dearly, that I am not sure about. I want to see them trust Christ.

Christian, this Christmas season is a wonderful time to be a witness to our friends and family members. It just may be that this year at Christmas they will see the real importance of Christ’s first coming, which was to ultimately die for the sins of the world. We talk a lot about the the second coming, and we should; but we also need to remember that it is Christ’s first coming to Bethlehem’s manger that brought about the blood atonement and our forgiveness. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if somebody you love was to see a manger scene, or hear a Christmas song, and somehow get ahold of the true meaning of Christ’s first coming; and thereby be prepared for His second.