Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
This passage of scripture teaches us that we should live our lives with the blessed hope of Christ's soon return, and we should allow it to color all of our thoughts and actions, so that it can be synthesized with our daily experiences. When the blessed hope is alive and well in our hearts, it will affect everything we do, and it will regulate and put in their right perspective all of the various situations we may come across in our lives. This is what Christ sought to set as a priority in the hears and minds of His disciples, that's why in His intercourse with the people, spiritual and eternal things always took precedence over the temporal and mundane things of life, for it is unwise to expend one's energies and resources chasing after an illusive dream that will fade away. Let's read:
John 6:5 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
In this instance the people's main focus was the material benefits that could be derived through association with Christ, and this inordinate desire was the cause of many of the problems that arose. Even the disciples were affected in some way by by the tendency to set the heart and affections on material blessings, instead of focusing on the blessed hope. This is the reason why on several occasions there arose amongst them a dispute of who should be the greatest, a conversation that was usually started by Judas, who did not have the blessed hope within him.
The hope of eternal life in Christ causes us to have a different outlook on the petty problems and disturbances that arise from time to time, for when we are constantly looking forward to the earth made new, then the circumstances of life are put in their right perspective, and are prevented by the grace of God, from causing us to stumble and turn back from following Christ. Of Abraham it was said that he looked for a city whose builder and maker is God, and because of this lively hope within him, it did not matter if Lot chose the most fertile portion of the land, for in Abraham's mind it was all going to burn, and therefore there was no need to argue about something that will pass away.
Many of the issues we wrestle with come about as the result of not having the blessed hope front and center of our aspirations, that's why there are family feuds over inheritances, and that's why there are arguments about church offices, and promotions and material possessions and a host of other so-called problems that we expend a whole lot of time and energy on. When the hope of eternal salvation is alive in our hearts, all of the temporal issues of life will pale into insignificance, in contrast with what is to be revealed, hence the reason why the true Christian always tends to look past the here and now, and instead focuses squarely on the future, for where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also.
Let us therefore not be consumed with those things that will perish, but let us rather focus on Christ and the work He is now finishing up in the heavenly sanctuary, for if we do, we will be enabled to enter into His joy, that of seeing many sons and daughters born into His kingdom, and we will thus be energized to participate in the work of saving souls who are lost. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to keep this hope alive during our short pilgrimage on this planet, for what we have longed and hoped for is soon to become a living reality. Let's read:
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!