Love His Appearing
by Edwin Crozier
This final push in II Timothy 4 comes because Paul knows this imprisonment will be his last. The time has come for him to give his life for his King. He faces it with dignity and honor. He’s fought the fight, finished the race, kept the faith. He knows His King will walk with him through the final battle. On the other side, he will receive the crown of righteousness.
However, he is not the only one who will receive this crown. All those who love the appearing of Jesus will also receive that crown of righteousness.
In I Timothy 6:14, Paul mentioned the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Timothy might not have read it, but we know Paul also told Titus about the appearing. He said we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13 ESV).
Those who love that appearing will receive the crown of righteousness on that day, the judgment day. We will reign with Him because we endured with Him (see II Timothy 2:12).
What does it mean to love the Lord’s appearing? Imagine being part of a horrific kingdom. The king is bad. The laws are bad. The citizenry is bad. But you know another king is on his way to conquer. Those who give allegiance to Him before He arrives will be saved in the battle and reign with Him in the ensuing kingdom. Loving His appearing means looking forward to His arrival. It means realizing that when He gets here, it will be better than what we have now. The problem is, some people like the present king. Some people like the present laws. Some people like the present citizenry. They don’t want the new King to come. If He comes, they want Him to lose. They don’t love the new King’s appearing; they love the old king.
Do we look forward to the coming of King Jesus? Are we ready for him to conquer the present kingdom, sweeping it away, leaving behind the kingdom where righteousness dwells? Are we telling others about the coming King? Are we trying to get others to love His appearing?
In just a few verses, we’re going to hear about Demas, who deserted Paul because he was in love with the present world. That’s the exact opposite of loving the Lord’s appearing.
Of course, this goes back to the difficult times of II Timothy 3:1-5. We will either love ourselves, or we will love God. We will either love pleasure, or we will love the good. We will either love this world, or we will love the appearing of Jesus.
What do you love? Can we help you love the appearing of Jesus?
