Past Forgiven; Future Glorious

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those eagerly waiting for him. (Heb. 9:28)

Heb. 9:22-28; Isa. 53:12; I Pet. 2:24; I John 3:5; Tit. 2:11-13

What Is God Saying?

Our verse today comes at the end of a chapter that stresses three appearances of Christ. He who promised to be with us always meets our needs, not only in every situation but also in every tense-past, present, and future. "He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb 9:26). That takes care of the past. "For Christ is entered into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb. 9:24). He is there to meet every need in the present. "So Christ will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those eagerly waiting for him" (Heb. 9:28). Such is our future. "The grace of God has appeared (and now we are) awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2: 11-13).

How Does This Apply To Us?

Isaiah said, "He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isa 53:12). It happened. "Christ bore our sins in his own body on the Cross" (I Peter 2:24). We are forgiven. God has forgotten. The past is put to rest because of Christ's atoning death. Now, our concerns are only about the present. Not even the future should worry us. If we walk with Jesus now, God will take care of the future. We trust Him for that. Our greatest need is to show our gratitude now, to discover and do His will now, and to exercise the God-given grace of prayer now. In that spirit, we wait for Him to make every wrong right, reveal every mystery, complete our joy, and purify our hearts.

Pray With Me

Let me be as one whose face reflects the growing light of dawn, for as sure as the morning is Your coming. In waiting for this full redemption, let me hold a vision of things that are to be—more beautiful than the eye has ever seen, more comforting than the ear has ever heard, more wonderful than the heart has ever imagined.

With a heart set free from guilt, cleansed from all unrighteousness according to Your promise, and filled with the love of Your name and the hope of my calling, I will be among those who eagerly await Your coming. With all this glory coming to me because You are coming for me, I have good reason to do more than wait. I have every reason to work. Whether waiting or working, I would do all for Your glory.

Through Christ, whose coming in grace the first time has removed the dread of His coming again. Amen.

Moving On In The Life of Prayer

Eagerly waiting is a hallmark of prayer. We have a blessed hope. We have everything to win and nothing of any value to lose. It can be so when we know whose side we are on and how wonderful the One for whom we are waiting is. Let all our praying be a blend of eagerness and waiting.