In A Little While
In A Little While
“Ina little while you will see me no more, and then aftera little while you will see me. “
John 16:16
“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn into joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joythat a child is born into the world. So with you : Now is your time of grief,but I will see you again and you will rejoice and no one will take away your joy.”
John 16: 20-22
Theseare among the comforting words Jesus gave to his disciples prior to his death. His time of departure is at hand , he was about to be crucified. But seemingly the disciples still could not comprehend well the purpose of his crucifixion and death. Seemingly they could not still comprehend great truths about the Kingdom of God and Eternal Life.
In a little while they will not see Jesus because he will be crucified and die. But after a little while they will again see Jesus because Jesus will resurrect themfrom the death and will meet him again in the Kingdom of God. It is wonderful to realize that in just a little while Jesus will come again and will resurrect all the dead believers. It is wonderful to realize that in a little while we will see the Kingdom of God.
How long must we still wait ?Will it still take too long before we see the Kingdom of God ?
Jesus may still tarry in his Second Coming, but the Kingdom of God may be near because of the nearness of death. As Christians redeemed by the blood of Christ,we should never fear deathfor through our death we enter the Kingdom of God. Our life after death is the continuation of the Eternal Life we receive the moment we receive JesusChrist as our personal Savior and Lord.
I am forty-five years old now. Considering the average human lifespan of seventy years, I have only about twenty five years to live before I meet my death. For me that is not too far away, for theforty-five years of my life that passed away seemed just like a glimpse of moment. Seemingly my childhood days were just a few years ago.Our lifespan indeed is too brief as it is written in Psalm 39:4-5 ;
“Show me O Lord my life’s end and the number of my days, let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreath; The span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath.”
Even Jesus still tarry in his coming, in a little while I will see him face to face. So as Christians we should neverfearaging , for as we age, as we advance in years, we become nearer to the Kingdom of God. We become closer to our perfect home. Though as we grow older, there are many unpleasant physical difficulties and infirmities we may experience.Our sightmay grow dimmer because of cataracts, we may find difficulties in walking because of pain due to arthritis, our hair will start to become gray and thinner, wrinkling and sagging of skin will become more evident. These are all part of the birthpainsto experience before death. But once we meet our death, our joy will finally be complete. All our sorrows and pains will be turned into a great joy. This is the confidence and assurance we have in Christ Jesus.
Our Christian journey is a journey of struggles,pains and sufferings. We are suffering because we are pursuing righteousness in a wicked and evil world hostile to the righteousness of God, We will never be truly happy in this world or in any of the things the world will offer. For we are not meant for this world. We are destined for much greater destiny and that is the everlasting Kingdom of God.The earthly life is so fleeting, we should not dwell so much on it. We should never take our permanent residence in the world and find our happiness in the things that it offer, for we are just pilgrims here. God reserved the very best for His precious children.Our home and permanent residence is in Heaven and we should never be sidetrackedby the temporal glories and pleasures offered by the world. God has prepared a very great future for us in His Kingdom. And we should always look forward to it with great excitement.
Though our earthly life has brought us too many sorrows and pains, this will be nothingto compareto the glory and joy we will receive in God’s eternal Kingdom.Though seemingly the night is too long and life’s burden has become more unbearable with each passing day, cheer up in a little while we will see Jesus. We have all this assurance for JesusChrist has conquered death.We have this assurance because Jesus resurrected from the grave.
