We Remember You Are Coming Again

I wish I were someone who could walk around so confidently saying, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” After all, aren’t all Christ followers supposed to be able to say it so freely? If I’m being honest, sometimes I don’t even want to remember that Jesus is coming back. Sometimes I rush past the thought when it comes to mind. Because, when I remember that He is coming again, I tend to think about all the earthly moments I won’t get to experience if He comes back soon while I’m on this side of our eternity.

I wish I could say that the truth of today’s Scripture reading is what first comes to mind when I consider Jesus’s sure, coming return. In part, I know these thoughts are a consequence of living in a sinful, broken world with an imperfect, not fully-redeemed mind. But Isaiah 65 gives me hope. One day, not only will the heavens and earth be made new, but what I remember and how I think will be made new as well. When Jesus comes back, I won’t be sitting in grief over unfulfilled, earthly moments. After all, “the past events will not be remembered or come to mind” (v.17). The Lord says that what He will do will be worth rejoicing in forever (v.18). These words aren’t wishful thinking. They describe our upcoming, eternal reality with renewed minds.

Even Paul, hundreds of years later, affirmed the heart of this prophecy from Isaiah. The point of remembering that Christ is coming again, according to Paul, is to live in hope, not grief (1Thessalonians 4:13). Our one sure hope is that we will be in God’s presence forever with all those who are in Christ (v.17). And that is enough to rejoice in for eternity. And yet, that’s not all we’ll get to experience. We’ll get to live and worship in the new heavens and the new earth—which we got a glimpse of in today’s reading. To think of the world redeemed like this feels hard to even fathom. What an experience that life will be—living in a world free from the presence and power of sin. Gosh, I want that. What an abundant, gracious God to assure us that we will live completely and freely in His presence, and every single experience in the new heavens and new earth—from every animal and acre of land to every human thought and experience—will be consumed in and reflect God’s perfect glory. 

When I fixate on my earthly longings, I’m placing my hope in uncertainties. But when I remember that Jesus is coming back and He’s going to make all things new, I find sure, firm certainty.  
Our People of Remembrance reading plan ends with the final verses in the canon of Scripture, calling Jesus to return. If that’s the final cry of God’s Word, may it be the final cry of my heart as well. “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).