Do you really want Jesus to come back?

As believers or followers of Christ we should be anticipating His return to judge the earth and bring the new Heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells. But if we are honest we don't live like we are looking forward to His coming. Let me share some thoughts I got out of 2 Peter 3 today. They are by no means an exhausted study on the second coming of Christ, but just a challenge to the church, and to me. I was lead to 2 Peter while reading in Matthew 3.

 At our Lord's first coming we read in Matthew 3 that John the Baptist was anticipating the coming of the Lord. He is seen crying out in the wilderness and saying to the people to repent because the Lord's kingdom is near. The fact that John is crying out means, at least, that he is filled with emotions regarding the Lord's coming.  This is seen by his radical lifestyle and his fearless preaching, regardless of how he is perceived by the crowds. I know some will say that we live in a different culture and in different times. This is true, but isn't it also true that we are guilty of having to much of the culture in us, which could be why we don't take the promise of the Lord's return seriously, and then take the gospel out to the people.

Further, in 2 Peter 3:10, we read that the day of the Lord is going to come and it also tells us the nature of that return. There will be a destruction of the present heavens and earth and a re-creating of new ones. Then starting in verse 11, we are challenged to live a certain way, which is in holy conduct and godliness. In verse 12, Peter tells us what that holiness looks like, which is a looking forward to, and a hastening of the coming of our Lord. The question is, what does this mean, and what does it look like? The verb "looking," has the idea of waiting or expecting, and the verb "hastening," has the idea of causing to happen soon. If you take all of this together, the believer should be eagerly anticipating the coming of the Lord, and believing that it will come quickly. Do we live this way? I would argue no, we don't. Perhaps it is because we have fallen from our own steadfastness and have been led away by the wickedness of the world?  How we do we show that we anticipate His coming?
One commentary put it this way, "By praying for His coming, furthering the preaching of the Gospel for a witness to all nations, and bringing in those whom "the long-suffering of God" waits to save, we hasten the coming of the day of God. The Greek verb is always in New Testament used as neuter (as English Version here), not active; but the Septuagint uses it actively. Christ says, "Surely I come quickly. Amen." Our part is to speed forward this consummation by praying, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" ( Revelation 22:20)." So we look forward to His coming by praying for Him to return quickly. My last point is that Peter gives the church a commandment in verse 18 to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ. This commandment follows the warning of falling away from living this holy life. So how do we avoid falling away with the wickedness of the world? We avoid it by growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Are you growing in this way? May we be found by Him to be faithful to the end. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with you. If you enjoyed them, please become a follower and share it with your friends.