The Second Coming as a Test of Our Hearts

Behold, He cometh with clouds—this proclamation of our Lord Jesus Christ's return stands as the supreme hope of the Church, that great and glorious event toward which all creation tends. Yet our feelings regarding His appearing reveal the true condition of our hearts before Elohim.

If we cannot say from the depths of our being, "Even so, Amen," we must examine ourselves. What prevents us from loving His appearing? First, secret worldliness—the cares of this life that choke our devotion. Have we labored for wealth, fame, or social distinction, becoming unto ourselves a little antichrist that the Lord must destroy by the brightness of His coming?

Second, worldly associations entangle us. Rather than loving the world as Christ loved it—going forth to save the perishing—we pursue social pleasure and conform ourselves to the world's image, wearing its uniform instead of bearing Christ's reproach outside the camp.

Third, indolence robs us of Advent hope. Would the Lord Jesus truthfully say of our service, "Thou wicked and slothful servant"? Would He take our talents and give them to the faithful?

Finally, secret sin known only to God and ourselves—extenuated by perverted understanding yet already condemned by the inward witness of the Holy Spirit—prevents our utterance of this prayer. The Second Coming becomes either our greatest comfort or our gravest dread, depending wholly upon the state of our hearts.