Titus 2:13 (ESV)
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great
God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Depending on how the translators choose to translate this verse from the
original Greek, we are either waiting for his appearing, which is glorious, or
we are waiting for his glory to appear. Either way, glory is associated with
Jesus. When Jesus walked this earth no one saw his glory. It was shielded by
his humanity. On the cross no one saw his glory. It was hidden behind his
humanity. But when he returns it is his glory that we will see. A case could be
made that three of his disciples saw him in his glory at the transfiguration
recorded in Matthew 17, Luke 9, and Mark 9. But even there I suspect that they
only saw a hint of his glory. His appearance was not substantially different
from that of Moses or Elijah. When he returns, we will see Jesus Christ,
Savior, our great God. We will behold him in all of his God glory.
We are awed by the beauty that surrounds us in this world. The changing
colors of trees, the majesty of a waterfall, the beauty of a lake reflecting
the trees that surround it on a calm day, all of these fill us with wonder and
awe. Sunrises and sunsets often leave us awed and amazed, especially in certain
settings. Yet as awesome as these things are, they are but a poor reflection of
the glory of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. How we respond when he
returns in all his glory largely depends on how we respond to him now. If we
have trusted him as our Savior and walked with him as our Lord, my guess is
that we will fall on our faces in worship, joy, and awe. If we have failed to
trust him, if we have rejected the truth of his gospel, my guess is that we
will fall on our faces in terror. There is nowhere to hide from an omnipresent
God. Do you live in anticipation of his return?
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