The writers of the New Testament were a bruised and battered bunch. And I believe this is why they wrote so much about heaven. Even at the very close of the New Testament, the old apostle John puts it this way in Revelation 22. He says – and you can almost hear the groan in his words – “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’” And I'll add my two cents and say, “Oh, Lord Jesus – that’s me talking – please come quickly.”
It’s the hope of heaven that stokes the fire in our weary bones. And every time I leaf through the letters of the New Testament, the writings of Paul and John, Peter and James are laced with constant references to the second coming of Christ. That’s ’cause things were hard back in New Testament times… there was a lot of suffering… Christians were being persecuted right and left. It was just natural for those New Testament writers to long for the time when their Savior would restore all things and complete the kingdom. Continually they were praying, “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!” Even 1 Corinthians 1:7 says they were eagerly waiting for Jesus Christ to be revealed.
Now here is what I’ve learned from these men. These suffering saints weren’t trying to escape the painful realities of earth; they gladly endured their hardships. They were able to be happy in the midst of many problems because they knew heaven would reveal the earth-shaking significance behind each tear and affliction. Their perspective on heaven helped give meaning to their problems on earth. The way they looked at the hereafter powerfully influenced the way they looked at the here and now!
Suffering saints of old likened themselves to soldiers poised on the watchtower, they saw themselves as workers hoeing for the harvest, or athletes straining toward the finish line, and virgins waiting wide-eyed in the night, lamps trimmed, hearts afire, and scanning the horizon for the arrival of their beloved. For New Testament writers who suffered – and suffered much – the world was no party. Rather, they were anticipating the coming party.
Hey, that’s me. I'm happy to be looking forward to that party when heaven will finally break on the horizon. But let me add – and this is important – if I say, “Come Lord Jesus” with one breath; in the next, I must always pray, “... and until you return, give me grace to bear up under my hardship, peace to accept my life circumstances, and courage to tell others about Jesus Christ so that they, too, can joyously anticipate the Savior’s return.” So friend listening today, take courage from Isaiah 35 and “strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; and don’t forget to say to those, to others with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come... he will come to save you.’”
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