Photo Courtesy of Jordan Wozniak
I spend a great many hours reminding gymnasts that they must expect to make their routines at a meet. This past weekend, I could tell easily by a gymnast’s body language and facial expressions whether she had expected to perform well at the competition. I could tell who hadn’t, too.
Gymnasts with an attitude of expectation exhibit certain traits at the meet that the others do not display. There is a confidence and calmness about them. I can sense that they trust their coaches and believe that the hours they have spent practicing in the gym have made them ready for the competition.
As Christians we should be living with an expectation: that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will return. Jesus said, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:40).
Like athletes who expect the expected, Christians should be prepared for the arrival of our Lord. We should also be training for His return. In this way, we will live as an example to the world that Christ will indeed come again. We must be diligent in prayer, asking for Christ to come. We should be invested in the study of Scripture and committed to attending worship.
When we are persistent in our training, our lives will be full of confidence in Christ’s promises, particularly His promise to come again. And we will have the calm assurance of knowing that His return will create a new world and we will be transformed in His likeness. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.
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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD
Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2