Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
Revelation 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Last week my wife and I were in the Waterloo, Iowa, crowd that welcomed the Iowa National Guard’s 1st Battalion 133rd Infantry home after nearly 2 years serving in Iraq. Crowds lined the streets and highways from Dubuque to Waterloo. Families were reunited. It was an awesome homecoming.

The Lord Jesus fought a greater battle for us at Calvary. He was victorious as the empty tomb proves. The Lord has promised to come again; however, He has not been gone two years but two thousand. He has asked us to stay busy until He returns. He has asked us to remember Him and to proclaim His death until He comes. He has asked us to remain faithful and to not give up hope until He comes.

Sometimes “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” We saw that when the soldiers came home and were being greeted with tears and hugs by those that loved them. Sometimes “out of sight is out of mind.” We saw a few soldiers looking for loved ones that they could not find. Hopefully, they did find them later. It would be a sad experience to come home after being gone for two years and to have no one there to meet you. But when the Lord comes will we be waiting expectantly for Him, or will we be slumbering and sleeping like the ten virgins in Matthew 25? Will He find us busy doing His work or will we have decided that there is no reward for being faithful since He has waited so long to return? The Lord has given us all equal opportunities to serve Him whether we are saved early or late in life or whether we are saved early or late in this dispensation of grace (Matthew 20:12). We have all been given equal responsibilities to serve Him (Luke 19:13). But we have been given differing abilities to use to serve Him until He comes (Matthew 25:15).

One thing we can do “until He comes” is to “remember Him” or to memorialize Him with a cup of wine and loaf of bread. This is a symbolic fellowship meal and cannot be done alone, but is always done with other believers in the Scriptures. The word “together” is used five times in this section of 1 Corinthians 11 dealing with the doctrine of the Lord’s supper. There is no sacred value in the emblems. Taking them does not save or remove sin, but taking them reminds us that we have a Savior who did die to forgive us and remove our sin. Congregations that place an emphasis on remembering the Lord until He comes keep their focus on Him instead of focusing on themselves. They stay reminded that the Lord is coming. They are motivated to stay occupied with the business of doing the Lord’s work until He comes. They believe that salvation is a free gift but that the Lord will reward faithfulness when He comes.

When our soldiers came home, our governor was not there. Not one of our Iowa congressmen was there. They all sent “representatives.” I do not understand why those who have been involved in voting for the war resolutions could not be there to thank the young men and women who had fought for them. Will it be like that when the Lord returns? If the Lord were to tell us that He was coming today (which He hasn’t), would we be so busy with our lives and our commitments that we would not find time to meet Him in order to thank Him for what He has done for us?

Unbelievers are certainly not waiting for Him and would have no joy in meeting Him since He will be coming as their judge. But believers should be longing to get that first glimpse of our returning Lord and Savior.

Bruce Collins