Mensa Otabil - Unashamed
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John chapter 2, verse 28: «And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.» Jesus Christ is coming again; that is our Christian proclamation. That’s what Jesus Himself affirmed over and over in His ministry, especially at the latter part of His ministry. The angel of the Lord declared to the apostles and the disciples as they looked up to Jesus ascending, «The same Jesus is coming again.» The early church proclaimed it: Maranatha! He’s coming, He’s coming soon, He’s coming again. Jesus is coming again, and that is something that we have to emphasize, something that we have to be aware of, and something that we have to live and hope towards-the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In His first coming, the Lord Jesus came as a Savior, seeking to save that which was lost, and He laid down His life for the people He wanted to save. In His second coming, He’s not coming to seek and to save that which is lost; neither is He coming to lay down His life. He’s coming to judge. He’s coming as Ruler to judge whether we accepted the offer He gave us or did not accept it. That’s going to be the basis of the judgment.
Our task as believers is to be prepared for the coming of the Lord, and this passage tells us a couple of things we must do as we prepare for His coming. It says we must not be ashamed at His coming. We must not be ashamed at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word «ashamed» means to shrink back, to pull away, or to run off. It’s similar to what happens when a child makes a mistake, perhaps breaks something, or does something terrible that they’re not supposed to do, and they know their parents are going to be very upset when they come back from work.
So they hear the sound of the parent coming and pull back; they are not ready to face their parent. In other times, they would have gone to welcome him or her joyfully, but because they’re not ready and are afraid of the parent’s coming, they pull away. They are ashamed at His coming. The Bible says we don’t have to have that posture when we hear Jesus is coming, or when He appears; we don’t run into hiding. We don’t go and hide on the mountains or in the valley because we think we are not ready to receive Him.
So we must live in such a way that we are not ashamed at His coming. We don’t pull away in guilt at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many Christians who do not want to hear that Jesus is coming again, but He is coming again whether you want to hear it or not. We must be confident at His coming. That means we must have great boldness at His coming.
If we use the same analogy of a child whose parent has just arrived from being out, whether at work or on a trip, the children are bold at the coming of their parents. They are excited; they run out, hug their parent, and start talking and rejoicing because they have nothing to hide-they’ve been expecting this, and it is a pleasure to have their parent back. That is how the Bible says we should welcome the Lord Jesus Christ. His coming is like children meeting their parents who have been away for a long time. It’s a day of joy, a day of gladness; it’s not a fear or trepidation of something evil happening to us, but we are ready to receive Him because His joy is our portion.
That’s supposed to be our attitude: we don’t pull away in shame, but we go boldly to embrace the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray: say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me to stand confidently before Christ at His coming without guilt or shame. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.