Loving His Appearing

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.  (2 Tim. 4:8)

The following mail arrived in our box today from a friend and worker who has gone to the Muslim world with another agency--not ReachAcross, but his words express it well--seek the Vine, not the fruit, and the fruit will eventually (and usually slowly!) grow and mature on its own:  

In the recent past, we have been surprised by how much reference to the coming of Jesus some of the . . . * hymns we sing make, “I thirst for your coming; with faith, hope and patience I wait for your return…” These have come as a shock back into reality to us. True, we are here for a reason—to accomplish something! What we are to set our hearts upon, however, is not the fruit of what we have come to do. No! That could become very dangerous, spiritually speaking. Especially when the results are long in coming. Discouragement, cynicism, bitterness, burn-out easily set in. What we are to set are hearts upon is not the task itself. It is the One who commissioned us, the One to whom we belong, to whom we have been joined in baptism by the Spirit—Jesus,  our Bridegroom. 

These . . . hymn writers really had it right. What is it that enabled Paul to endure, with joy, in the face of terrible opposition for Jesus’ sake? It is “loving His appearing” (2Tim. 4: 7-8). Longing for Jesus and His return produces heart-faithfulness and endurance, Paul would tell us. True, he had his eye set on preaching Good News all the way up to Spain, but that ultimately wasn’t what his heart was yearning for. We too have set our eyes on bringing Good News of great joy to . . . .  But, man, what a job! 

After a year, we are beginning to realize how hard, how slow, how dis-couraging a task it can be. In light of what Paul shared with Timothy, what do we need? A continual perspective readjustment! “Don’t seek the fruit, seek the Vine,” Scripture would tell us—to abide in the Vine and in His love (Jn. 15: 1-11). As we continue and as we get ready to celebrate Christmas, be praying with us to this end, that we too may continue to grow deeper in knowing Jesus “who loved us and gave Himself for us” (Gal. 2; 20) that our hearts may long for His coming more fully—an unsatiable, ever increasing hunger and thirst for righteousness. Truly, it is always about who He is—and never about what we do. For the glory is always His—and never ours.  

*For security reasons, the country where our friends are working has been removed in the text, and simply replaced with . . . . For the same reasons, the name of the writer has been withheld.