How Does It Affect You?
By A. O. Tait
Do You Rejoice at the Thought of His Coming?
WHEN the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is preached, many people will be heard to say that it frightens them. They seem terrified at the thought of the possibility that the time may be near when the Christ of God will be seen coming in the glory that surrounds the majesty of His person. That the feelings of men purely of the world, who have no hope in the promises of God and who have no personal acquaintance with His Son Jesus Christ, should thus be stirred with dread at the thought of the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, is not to be wondered at. But why should professing Christians dread the coming of Christ? There can be but one answer to this question, and that is, they are not Christians in fact. They are such only in name. The Jesus that all prophecy shows will soon come again, is the same Jesus that was here on earth nineteen hundred years ago. “This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld Him going into heaven.” Acts 1:11. He is the same person when He returns that He was when He went away. All the tenderness of His nature that caused the common people of His day to hear Him gladly; all His kindness of heart and manner that drew the little children to Him; all His depth of feeling and sympathy for humanity as He wept at the grave of Lazarus, together with every other one of the desirable attributes that were so beautifully blended into His perfect character, will remain with Him when He comes, for they are a part of His very being. He could not be separated from His nature of tenderness and infinite love and mercy. But righteousness and justice are just as much a part of His nature and of His inseparable attributes as are mercy and loving-kindness. The Lord Himself has impressed the truth of this upon every human soul. And the fact that at His coming we will have to meet His righteousness and justice, as well as His mercy and kindness, accounts for the dread that is in so many minds when the evidence is presented that shows the coming of the Lord to be near. Then if we would enjoy the knowledge of the truth that this reign of sin is about to be destroyed at the soon coming of Christ, we must get a personal acquaintance with the Master Himself. We must come to Him in honesty of purpose, and allow Him to wash away every sin by His own blood, and thus prepare us for His coming. Then we can look forward to 10the day of His appearing with a joy that is simply beyond description. To enjoy the hope of His coming, we must first enjoy the work of His forgiveness and cleansing from sin. If we have thus been brought into personal touch with Him, we will study every fresh evidence of His coming with a constantly increasing delight. The man who is loaded with sin and crime, and who clings tenaciously to his wickedness, can have nothing else than a crushing load of dread at the thought of the appearing of the One whose whole being is filled with righteousness and truth. But oceans of delight flood the soul of him who has tasted of the forgiving and cleansing power of the Man of Nazareth, and who has learned from the lamp of prophecy to know of His coming.