THIS IS a question that has been repeatedly on our minds if not on our lips.
How long will it be before this dreadful pandemic ends? How long will it be before we can hug our relatives again?
How long will it be before we can sing together in church? How long?
The Christian Church is currently celebrating Advent (from the Latin word ‘adventus’ meaning ‘arrival’).
It is a time when not only do we prepare for the annual celebration of the arrival of Jesus, God’s Son, into the world more than 2,000 years ago, we also look forward to his second arrival at some time in the future.
Asking ‘How long will it be before that second appearance occurs?’ is futile because as Jesus said himself, “No-one knows about that day or hour” (Matthew 24:36).
However, we know that for God’s people from all over the world it will usher in a future in which there will be no more pandemics, no more pain, no more mourning, no more death; everything will be brand new under the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ.
What a glorious prospect.
No wonder Paul the Apostle said to his fellow Christians, “Whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us” (Romans 8:18 J B Phillips).
So we should each be asking not ‘How long?’ but ‘How much does this wonderful prospect affect my behaviour now?’
Peter Jackman of Norreys Church on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
