This devotion written by Drew Poppleton.
27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. ~ Hebrews 9:27-28
As we’ve stressed, Advent is a time when we focus on Christ’s arrival and in particular, we anticipate Christ’s second arrival, his glorious return. These verses from the letter to the Hebrews include a perfect reference to this sort of anticipation—Jesus “will appear a second time … to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Verses 27 & 28 are the last two verses of Hebrews 9. In the previous twenty-six verses, the author highlights how Christ’s singular sacrifice takes away sin in a way that all the previous sacrifices never could.
But the author doesn’t stop there.
We often stop there.
We often talk about Jesus “dying for our sins” and we often stop there.
We stop there and thank Jesus for the sacrifice.
Or we stop there and invite people to respond.
Or we stop there and savor the eternal benefit.
But perhaps we can take a cue from Hebrews 9:28?
Perhaps we can go one step further and anticipate Christ’s next move?
Because yes, he was offered once on the cross to bear the sins of many, but there’s more: He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him!
The story doesn’t end with the sacrifice (or even the resurrection … or the ascension). The story ends with Christ appearing a second time, this time to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
It’s hard not to love the various definitions of eager:
—wanting to do or have something very much
—characterized by keen expectancy or interest
This Advent, as we seek to anticipate Christ’s second arrival, as we await his glorious return, I wonder what it would be like to wait eagerly? — to wait in such a way that is characterized by keen expectancy? — to wait in such a way that we want something very much?
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