By: Keith Ross, Retired Nazarene Pastor
“About a mile, yet not!”
I love that Amish colloquialism, it is a perfect example of certain uncertainty. You are almost there—yet not! It is “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It is realism and hope, the present and the eventual.
It’s kind of like Advent.
Advent (from the Latin adventus, meaning, “coming”), is a time of preparation. It prepares us to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. But at the same time, it is also a preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.
The themes celebrated on each of the four Sundays include: The Prophets’ Candle, symbolizing hope; the Bethlehem Candle, symbolizing faith; the Shepherds’ Candle, symbolizing joy; the Angel’s Candle, symbolizing peace. Hope–Love–Joy–Peace.
So as believers, we find ourselves preparing for the birth of Christ, celebrating faith in and conversion to Christianity, and anticipating the eventual return of the son of God. Almost there—yet not!
I have been hearing of wars and rumors of wars, false teachers, persecution, and natural disasters all my life.
It appears these tribulations have been magnified in recent days. I am, however, reminded that Jesus warned, “In this world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33a). In every generation Christians somewhere have been and are experiencing these things.
So, how are we to live under these circumstances? How are we to “celebrate faith and Christianity” in the chaos of this world? How does one do “almost—yet not” victoriously?
Again, I am reminded that Jesus also said, “Be of good cheer! For I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).
There it is again; “realism and hope, the present and the eventual.”
Here, in Mark’s account, Jesus encourages us to “be on guard, be alert” (v. 33).
Anticipate His return. Anticipating His return in the future informs and drives the cheerful hope of the present.
Our hope in Christ’s return is not like hoping to do well on a test for which we have not prepared, it is the assurance that something promised will come to fruition.
So, we are called to live the now in light of the then. We live in a way that anticipates the future hope now.
Almost—yet not!