1 John 2:28 – 3:3 — 28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Along with providing hope, several times the 2nd coming of Christ is said to be earnestly desired. 2 Thes. 1:10 states that he will be marveled at when he comes and Paul says in 2 Tim. 4:8 that the crown of righteousness goes to those who will love his appearing. Even Rev. 22 ends with a plea of Come Lord Jesus!
So in light of those statements, why would we not long for his coming? It’s the same reasons that we would be shameful at his coming. John is well aware, when he writes 1 John that all Christians are sinners, but not all will be ashamed when he comes. Those who will shrink away instead of loving his appearing are those who are living in sin. Instead of confessing it and working to turn from it and put it to death, they are tolerating it or even coddling it. They are living selfish lives and not living with others in mind, even as we heard last week from Heb. 10. Another reason to be shameful at his coming is because, perhaps the majority of the time, our minds are set on temporal things, things that maybe aren’t evil, but things that fill our lives with busyness. Col. 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
The opposite of this is living for the moment or only thinking about things in the physical realm, whether it’s prosperity or protection. Eternity rarely crosses one’s mind and therefore the souls of those around are not really taken into consideration. So instead of redeeming the time for Christ’s glory, our days are being wasted on personal comforts and pursuits. In contrast, the early church and every persecuted church since that time has been desperate for the return of Christ. That was their source of hope instead of someone or something in this world.