when He appears

"Now little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming...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." 1 John 2:28, 3:2

I've been thinking a lot about these few verses for a little while now.  In Focus (our weekly training session), we talked about Jesus' second coming, which was an interesting discussion. I find eschatology fascinating, and have done several studies on Revelation. But the thing that gets me every time is when it hits me anew: He is coming back for me. He is coming back, and I will see Him face to face. I know for some people this would inspire fear and trembling, but for me, my heart jumps and I smile. The longing to see Him face to face increases as I realize, this is not my home. God gives us things to enjoy and to show us Himself while we are on this earth, but soon we will be Home.

All the more reason to "abide in Him". I want to live a life that is pleasing to God. I don't want to "shrink away from Him in shame" when He comes. That image is just so pathetic. Like a dog with his tail between his legs. I want my heart to be pure, and to know that my life was not waisted on things that don't matter, but was spent running after the Lord and His ways. And I'm not there completely (really, who is?), but I still look forward to His coming with joy and excitement!

How do you feel about meeting Jesus?