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Everyone loves Christ in the cradle. The image of baby Jesus in the Bethlehem stable warms our hearts. Every December we recreate the moment on our lawns and below us Christmas trees. Plastic donkeys and wooden cribs are sold in shops. People collect hand-carved images of Mary, Joseph and the newborn baby.
We love Christ in the cradle.
We are well with Christ the gentle Messiah. The children are sitting on his lap. The sheep gathered around him. Apostle John laid on his chest. Maria anoints his feet. No one has a problem with a pleasant rabbi who offers wise counsel, feeds the crowd, and refills the wine at a wedding.
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Christ in the cradle? Wonderfully. Christ with a good heart? wonderful. But Christ the coming king? To the stallion? Roar from heaven? Crowned with the crowns of his enemies? On a mission to destroy those who destroy his children?
The world is less familiar with this view of Jesus. Yet this is the Jesus the world will soon see.
Did you know that the second coming is mentioned in the Bible more than three hundred times, an average of once every twenty-five verses?
The Holy Scriptures gush forth with the news of Christ’s return like water in full torrent. Jesus assured the depressed disciples: “I will come again” (John 14:3 nkjv). When Jesus ascended, the angel said to the witnesses:[Jesus] he will return in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Paul referred to “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 6:14). Peter affirmed: “The Lord will come” (2 Peter 3:10). Jude announced: “Behold, the Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his saints” (Jude 14).
The image of baby Jesus in the Bethlehem stable warms our hearts. (2004. Getty Images)
We are located in the season of advent. Advent leads us to the wonderful climax of Christmas, where we celebrate God’s incarnation.
Are we ready for the hope of what is to come when Jesus, the only child born in Bethlehem will he come again to rule forever?
We are waiting, but we must be ready.
Ready for the arrival of our coming king. Ready. Waiting. Awake. As soldiers guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. The men and women who guard there show a level of loyalty beyond compare. They spend eight hours preparing their uniforms. Gloves are worn wet to improve grip on the rifle. Grips are attached to the inside of each shoe to allow the soldier to click his heels.
Pastor Max Lucado and the cover of his latest book, “What Happens Next” (MaxLucado.com)
The guard keeps repeating the same move: twenty-one steps, then a pause of twenty-one seconds, the rifle is switched to the other shoulder, then another twenty-one steps. He or she repeats this until he is relieved at the changing of the guard.
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In the summer months, a soldier is on duty for thirty minutes. 60 minutes in winter. They fulfill their task in the heat of August and the cold of January. The routine never changes, even at night when the cemetery is closed. When Hurricane Isabel moved through the area in 2003, the soldiers never stopped. Not once. Trees were falling and the wind was whipping them, but they remained in position.
They have held this vigil every day of every year since 1921.
Outstanding.
A soldier from the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the “Old Guard,” walks during a changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 5, 2023, in Arlington, Va. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Question: If they can show such faithful devotion to unknown, dead soldiers, can we not do the same for our living, coming, reigning King? If these guards are willing to patrol in honor of those who have sacrificed, can’t we do even more for our King, who made the ultimate sacrifice? We are members of his battalion. We are included in his regiment. We will return with him one day. Can we not serve it on this day?
To be specific. What can you do today to honor your king? What kindness can you do? What offense can you forgive? What temptation can you resist? What kind of gift can you offer? Which discipline can you start? What sacrifice can you make? What act of love can you show?
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Let us act as men who are called to be soldiers in the returning army King of kings.
Christ from the cradle is now Christ with a crown. He is coming soon.
