The Blessed Hope

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Titus 2:11-14 says, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,   Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” 

     When I finally made it to being a senior at Washington Bible College, there came a time when every senior would give their personal testimony.  Most of the seniors were in their early twenties and their testimonies fit nicely into the allotted time, usually around five minutes, but no more than that.  I was forty years old, and so my testimony had a lot more to cover than the kids did.  The longer you live, the more memories you have a the less things you look forward to.  At the end of the usually superbowl, the winning quarterback will say, “Now, I’m going to Disneyland.”  

     Well, I am not looking forward to Disneyland, or Disneyworld or Riverside Park, the Poconos, or Pigeon Forge.  I’m too tired for all of that.  My body is weak even though my spirit is willing, yet  isn’t going to go too far for too long a time.  What I am looking for is that “blessed hope” t hat is mentioned in the above passage.  It doesn’t make too much difference how it occurs, either by death or the rapture, that is what I look forward to in these days.    I was talking to a thirty-three year old man recently who had taken a few online courses from Piedmont Bible College, but he was still trying to decide between Norse gods and Christianity.  He seemed to like the idea of a plurality of gods rather than the idea of one God.  He had a little knowledge about it, but not much and of course there is one big issue that decides it for Christianity and that is the empty tomb.  I’m not too concerned about the Norse gods, or the three million gods of the Hindus or Buddha or Confucius, or any of the other dead ones who didn’t live too long and are still in the grave.  I am looking forward to that which is guaranteed by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Wow!  You can’t beat  that.  So, when life is over, and the man with the microphone steps up and says, ”Well, Mr. Freeland, what are you going to do now?”  I will say, “I am going on to glory to meet my Savior face to face.”  Praise God for the Blessed Hope.