Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be,but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
I John 3:2-3
Below is from my brother Jon’s commentary on these verses:
Jesus is, indeed, the Perfect Man. He’s everything every one of us innately wants to be.
The more you read the Gospels carefully and prayerfully, thoughtfully and contemplatively, the more you will develop a profound appreciation of the personality, character, integrity, wisdom, and strength of Jesus. When I didn’t know as much about Jesus as I know now, I wasn’t as impressed with Him as I am today. And this is amazing because in every other case, the better you know people, the more disillusioned you become as you begin to see their cracks and flaws.
Not so with Jesus. The longer you walk with Him and the more you learn about Him, the more you will be impressed by Him, and the more you will long to see Him. Even though now we only see Him through a glass darkly (I Corinthians 13:12), I like what I see!
Every man who has the hope of seeing Jesus, everyone who looks for His coming walks with a greater degree of purity that with which he would otherwise walk. Living in the constant awareness that the Lord’s coming is at hand has a definite effect on the way one lives.
Whether you subscribe to a Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation, or Post-Tribulation Rapture, when you read Jesus’ words concerning the end times, you cannot come to any other conclusion than to say He wants us living each and every day looking for His coming.
“I’ve been hearing you talk about the soon coming of Jesus for twenty years now,” you say. “Before that, I heard Billy Graham talk about it. And isn’t it true that one hundred years ago D.L. Moody also believed Jesus would come shortly? C.H. Spurgeon said the same thing one hundred and fifty years ago. And it still hasn’t happened.”
That’s okay. Even if the Lord doesn’t come back in my lifetime, put me in the company of men throughout history who have lived their lives expecting the soon coming of Christ. Put me in the company of Spurgeon, Moody, Torrey, Finney and Graham. I would much rather be with those men throughout the ages– including the first-century church– who were living with the true expectancy of the coming of Christ than to be in the company of those who say, “It can’t be today.”
From out teaching last week–“The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ, is to live never forgetting the presence of Christ!”
Maranatha!