"He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him." ( Hebrews 9:28 NIV)
Hebrews chapter 9 tells us that Jesus is our High Priest, the only priest that could settle the sin problem once and for all. He settled your sin problem and my sin problem. The ransom for our salvation was paid when Jesus cried out, "it is finished." No longer would an earthly priest need to go every year into the earthly Holy of Holies to offer up a sacrifice for the atonement for sin. Jesus was the mediator of a new covenant that was much better than the old. After he finished the work on the cross and fulfilled prophecy by his victorious resurrection from the dead, he ascended back to heaven and took his seat as Victor at the right hand of the Father. What is our part in this story of redemption? As simple as it sounds, our part is to believe that the price Jesus paid is enough. There is an old chorus that says, "there's nothing else that I can do for Jesus did it all!" Remaining faithful to that faith commitment is a big task. Not that we lose faith but faith and faithfulness are two very different things. Faith can be a spontaneous thing and faithfulness is a moment by moment decision to believe and remain steadfast in our walking out our commitment. Faithfulness is a never ending journey! That doesn't mean that we don't have struggles in our faith. That doesn't mean that we don't have to pray the prayer, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." The final faithful tests comes on That Day when Jesus returns and we are still "fighting the good fight of faith."
Our text today tells us clearly that, "He will come again!" Hallelujah, He is coming again. When He comes He won't come to deal with our sins. That has already been completed. Yet, there is a final step to our salvation process that will prepare us to live in the Presence of God for eternity. Our total salvation transformation will come when we SEE HIM! That means that while some will be caught off guard by the second coming of Jesus, the Messiah, it won't catch true believers off guard. Our daily faith gives us a daily awareness of His Presence and it will be an alarm that will alert us to His pending arrival. This verse tells us that this final step of heavenly preparation will come to those who are "eagerly waiting for him."
Don't let that bother you. That doesn't mean that we should be sitting in the park passing each day with our natural eyes straining toward the sky. A living daily faith allows us to be faithful in our daily lives while our spirit man remains on watch for His appearing. If you are living by faith in a living relationship with Jesus, you are prepared for His Appearing. Like a radar screen scanning the skies so is your spirit ready for that day. Are you ready for Him? It is all about your living relationship with Jesus. If He is alive in your heart, you will see Him on that day!
