“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20-21
Heshen was a Chinese ruler in the eighteenth century.
He began his career as an imperial bodyguard known for his handsome appearance and charm.
After a revolt in 1796, Heshen was put in charge and, at the same time, he began to put money into his own pockets. His wealth was legendary.
He reportedly owned 8,000 acres of land and 60 million ounces of silver. There were 600 women in his harem.
But his career ended when he was removed from power and forced to commit suicide.
Wealth and power do not guarantee a long and happy life.
We saw in our last blog that it is hard to live like spiritual amphibians, since our main problem is that earth operates in a totally different manner from heaven.
If we are not careful, we can get so involved with the philosophies and lifestyle of this world where we live.
In order for us to be living like spiritual amphibians, we need to focus on 3 realities. We saw in our last blog that We are citizens of heaven, vs. 20a.
We learn in verse 20b that we are to get excited about the Rapture, vs.20b–“from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”
The phrase “eagerly wait” is a strong compound word and speaks of an attitude of intense anticipation withdrawing one’s attention from other objects.
How about us? Are we just waiting for Christ or are we eagerly anticipating Him?
If we are, it will cause us to live like spiritual amphibians by living in our true identity in Jesus Christ and not out of our own fleshly strength.
“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3
Two psychologists at UC San Diego have published research showing that people who read “spoilers”—information about what will happen in a story—actually end up enjoying a story more than people who don’t know what is going to happen.
As believers, we already know the end of the story, so we can enjoy life as we get excited about the Rapture!
Blessings!
Rev. Ken Keeler, Director of Church Ministries