Looking to That Day

1:10b in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ

This phrase expresses the ultimate purpose for all of these other desirable attributes Paul has mentioned: in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ . Sadly, this is largely a lost passion among God’s people. How easy it is for us to have a zeal for earthly comfort instead of heavenly readiness. How prone we are to thinking about this present day, this present world we live in, and how slow we are to think of the day that is coming, and the world that will follow. Just four verses ago Paul made another reference to this day of Christ. This day of the Lord is very prominent in the Bible. Everything is geared toward this day, and being ready for it. Everything we do is supposed to be done in the light of this day that is coming. The day of Christ will turn this world on its head. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. Those who weep now will laugh then and those who laugh now will weep then (Luke 6:21, 25). The high and mighty shall be thrust down. The meek shall inherit the earth. If we live for that day, if our main concern in life is to be ready for the day when the tables will be turned, then we won’t be concerned about worldly success or human approval, only about being faithful to God.

Put it this way: those who fear God are VERY concerned about the judgment day. And those who are very concerned about the judgment day are VERY concerned about how they live.

Those who are properly concerned about the day of Christ are therefore going to be concerned about being sincere in their faith (the word means pure in the sense of not double-minded). And they are going to strive to be blameless (that is, to live their lives in such a way that they are not provoking God - or others for that matter - to anger by the things they do).

This ought to be our goal in life: to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.

O Lord my God, Your great day is coming, a day that will shake the foundations of all things, a day of terror and a day of Your blazing glory. Lord, set my mind ablaze with the reality of this day. Let me live each one of my days with that day in mind. Everything I do, may it be done to prepare for that day. I am haunted by the idea of living in ease now and then being in terror on that day. I shudder to think of You saying to me, "I am against you. I never knew you. Depart from Me, you worker of iniquity." May I spend every moment of every day between this day and the last day striving to make sure You will never say those things to me, making sure that I am truly in the faith, making sure that my faith is sincere, making sure that the sincerity of my faith is verified by a blameless life. Please, Lord, give me a holy passion to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.