“So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await him.”
Hebrews 9:28 (NASB)
So many people are caught up in the current moment. They may not seem to be burdened with any care in particular, but are just living for now. It is a good thing to be content and many people struggle with being satisfied (Ph 4:11; I Ti 6:6, 6; He 13:5). But we must always remember why it is that we continue to live. The writer has said that mankind’s entire meaning is to respect God and obey him. Sometimes life can distract us; sometimes those distractions are pleasant or unpleasant. Nevertheless, the distractions can take our eyes off of our goal. We teach young ball players to keep their eyes on the ball. This is because we will instinctively grasp the thing we are looking at. We need to keep looking because someday Jesus is going to appear.
When Jesus appears again, if we are distracted, it will be too late. However, if we are ready and watching, we will be ready to meet him. When Jesus appears again he will bring salvation. Peter speaks about this in I Peter 1:3-5. In that passage he describes how we can have access to the salvation of Christ which will be revealed at the end. Again, we must be ready. We can’t stop living as some did in the past (II Th 3:6-13), but we must be ready no matter what we are doing; we can’t be so distracted that we let down our guard and drop the ball.
Peter is speaking about the hope that sustains faith through difficult times such as persecution. The writer of the book of Hebrews is speaking about avoiding apostasy. Apostasy can come during difficult times, but is just as likely to occur as a result of complacency. Things seem to be going along well and we can let our focus drift. Instead, let’s focus on the things we know will please God and the world, pleasant or unpleasant, will take care of itself (I Th 5:6). Let’s earnestly watch for Jesus so that we may be found in a state that will be ready for the salvation he brings.