All people need hope, and most hold onto the possibility of better things in the future. But Christians are confident that their hope is not in their imagination; it is secured on the promises of God. The Lord Jesus said that He will come again to eliminate evil and to reveal His eternal kingdom. He left His personal instructions about what will happen at the end of time (1 Thessalonians 4:15).
Everybody in God's redeemed family is looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ. Their eager expectation is part of the evidence that they belong to Him. They are brothers and sisters awaiting the joy of meeting their Saviour. But they do not know when it will be. Nor does anybody else, believer or unbeliever. Jesus did not reveal the date of His coming (Matthew 24:36).
The Second Coming of Christ will affect everybody (Revelation 1:7). Great joy will come to the believers and the fear of judgement to unbelievers (1 Thessalonians 5:3). The contrast will be the difference between night and day. So the church should be waiting expectantly, even though the world will be utterly shocked by the unexpected appearance of its Judge.
Each of us has an appointment to meet Jesus. When we see Him we will tell Him everything (2 Corinthians 5:10) and God's wrath will fall on all unrighteousness. But nobody is fully righteous (Psalm 14:3). That is why the anger of God against sin fell on Jesus, so that all who believe in Him will not suffer in the judgement but will have eternal life.
Each follower of Jesus is related to every other believer as a spiritual brother or sister. There is a wonderful equality in His family. However, He has appointed leaders who should be respected (Hebrews 13:17). They are not leaders in a military or business sense, but God has given them authority to lead His people into His truth and to follow His ways.
Believing in Jesus is the start of a whole new set of relationships. Each person who repents and receives Jesus as their Lord and Saviour is made a child of God (John 1:12). Because they all have the same heavenly Father, they are all brothers and sisters (Ephesians 4:6). That applies not just in the local church but world-wide.
Joy is one of the consequences of the Holy Spirit's presence in a believer (Galatians 5:22). It expresses the relief of sins forgiven, the confidence of being loved by God and the prospect of being welcomed by Jesus when He comes again. But adverse circumstances, inner conflicts and doubts may dull our joy.
God the Holy Spirit has been given to every believer (Romans 8:9). He is God's indwelling voice to our hearts, convicting us of sin, teaching us about Jesus and urging us to live in a way which will please the Father (John 16:13-15).
What is the faithfulness of God, and to whom is He faithful? Faithfulness is part of His character; He never deviates from who He is and He always fulfils what He has promised. He is true to His Word. Because of God's unchanging nature Father, Son and Spirit implicitly trust one another other (Hebrews 3:2). Because of God's faithfulness to Himself, we can trust His every Word and be totally certain that His promises will be fulfilled.
Although the Apostle Paul was God's chosen gospel messenger to the Gentiles (Acts 26:17-18), he and his team were humble. They considered themselves equal to their brothers and sisters in Christ, and not too proud to ask for their help. In particular, that the church in Thessalonica would pray for them as they faced danger for the sake of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 3:6-8).
