Salvation is of the LordSpeaker: Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran Gist: Christ the Saviour came to this earth for us. Today He is seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father and will come again. He will transform us to be like Him and keep us with Him forever. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). Christ will appear again to provide salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for Him. "Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23). For the redemption of the body, the whole creation groans and labours with birth pangs. (Romans 8:22)
Once when I was traveling by train, a young pastor was by my side. He told me, "Brother, I am aware that first July is your birth day. It is a jubilant day for you and those who love you and cherish you. But it is a sad day for me. When I asked him why, he replied, "Even before my birth, my father had expired. I do not have any brother or sister; my mother was everything for me. She brought me up with great affection. But, suddenly, she died on first July. Though I am a pastor, I could not sustain the loss and separation of my dear mother. For one whole month, I moaned and wept. One day, I went to the cemetery and asked the watchman to open the grave of my mother and permit me to see her face. He vehemently denied; but my persistent persuasion made him relent; he moved by my pathetic state, dug it out, took out the coffin, opened it and showed me my dead mother's face, which I touched and felt and wept. Her face had lost its beauty. "Would she not open her eyes and call me 'sonny, dear', my wild imagination craved; I voiced my imagined fancy and cried aloud for a long time; but no, she did not open her eyes. We closed the coffin and put it back in its place; I returned home, but Brother, my heart is still sore, comfortless!" He shed tears.
Friend, death is incredulously horrible. After the spark of life is gone out of the body, we wonder if we should burn it to ashes or bury it. Nevertheless, a saving redemption is necessary for our body. It is waiting in its degenerate state as ashes or as dust of dust in a grave.
Christ the Saviour is coming St.Paul explicitly explains why Christ, who is the Saviour, is coming and what will happen when He comes again, thus: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52). "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:14,16). That is why our Holy Bible also declares, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." (Revelation 14:13)
My dear friend, when our gracious Lord returns, He will bring with Him those who sleep in Him. The bodies that lie in the cemeteries or in the earth will rise up. He will unite their souls with them. At that time two transformations will occur. The living will be transfigured and go up to welcome the Christ coming from heaven. The bodies of the dead returned with their Spirits, in a kind of transfiguration, will go marching on to receive the Eternal One. What a richly blessed day will it be, when He returns again. So there is hope for us, our bodies and our souls. Sin or evils or death cannot conquer us.
Christ the Saviour came down to this earth for each one of us. Today He is seated on the right hand of His Father in Heaven. He will positively return again. He will cleanse our sins and redeem us. No sin or wicked evil habit can stick to those who love Him; even if it sticks, it will be a purely temporary phenomenon. He will redeem us from all evil, disease, poverty, peace-starved turbulence in families, whatever the evil is, and it will be absolved. He will bring back to life, our earth-bound bodies even after death. He will transform us 'like Him' (1 John3: 2) and keep us with Him forever.
Friend, give a place in your heart for Him to be born. Rejoice with His blessings.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I thank You for being the Lord who never goes back from His promise. I am looking forward with great excitement for the day when You will return to this earth as a glorious King. Help me to prepare myself to see that great and wonderful day. Wash me with Your life-giving blood and transform me to be like You. Lord, when You come in Your great glory, do remember me. I believe that I will be with You in the Heavenly Home eternally. I give You all the glory, honour and praise. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen. |