“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.” – Colossians 3:4, NIV (1984)
Anticipation. Waiting. Excitement for something that cannot be adequately described. This is the stuff of the biblical Christian faith. We live between the tension points of what is and what will be. And what will be so grandly eclipses what is now that our God prescribed our hope as a hope that is alive (I Peter 1:3) and unsearchable (Ephesians 3:8).
Here it is in the simplest of terms, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4, NIV, 1984). Clearly, there is a sense in which Jesus Christ has not yet “appeared.” This should be obvious to us. In the world today, people exist who curse Christ, malign Christ, and try to ignore Christ. Jesus has been labeled by many a liar, or merely a prophet, or just a moral teacher. Some despise Him with a deep hatred. Some spend years of life not recognizing Him for Who He is. Surely, the full identity of Jesus in all His glory has not yet been revealed. Hence, the apostle Paul talks about the time “when Christ appears.”
For now, the true identity of Christ remains somewhat hidden. If He were honored for Who He truly is, the world would be right. Even we who have repented of sins and asked Him to be our Savior do not completely see and act on the reality of Who Christ is. Our minds know He is the Lord, but we often live with other idols. Our minds know He is King of Kings, but we often live in fear. Our minds know He is the judge, but we often make decisions based on our own desires.
No, certainly not the world – and not even we Christians – see Jesus for Who He is in the final sense of the word. This is one reason Paul declared, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (I Corinthians 13:12, ESV). Everything is somewhat fuzzy now, just a bit unclear. Isaiah said a similar thing 2,700 years ago when He prophesied about the second coming of Jesus, “And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces . . .” (Isaiah 25:7-8a, NASB). Did you catch that first part? The covering – the veil – will be taken away so things become crystal clear. The day that happens will also be the moment death is vanquished and every source of sadness is eradicated. What a day that is going to be!
So we wait. We long for Christ to ultimately appear. When He does, the totality of His being will come to light; and none will be able to refuse it. Whether willingly or by compulsion at the sight of His unhindered glory, “Every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, . . .” (Philippians 2:10-11a, NASB). Can you imagine? Finally! All people will honor Him! His glory will shine so brightly that all will know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that He reigns victorious! No more can evil prevail, no more can sin destroy, no more can sadness come, no more can death exist; for, Christ will be conclusively revealed! John expressed it in the book of Revelation, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him . . .” (Revelation 1:7, ESV).
Let us go back now to Colossians 3:4 (NIV, 1984), “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.” Amazingly, when Jesus is consummately revealed, then every true Christian will also utterly be recognized for who he or she is. No longer will we be frustrated by our battle of the flesh against sin. No longer will people look at us and wonder how we could possibly be “children of the King.” We will, after all, be seen as truly beautiful – inside and out. How does this happen? Because, as Paul says in Colossians 3:4, “Christ is our life.” Yes, only commensurate with how truly I can declare Him to be my life now can I hope to be revealed in glory with Him someday in the future. Paul proclaimed, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3, NIV, 1984). Paul was not speaking of physical death, but death to self as the ruler of my life – death to sin. I am dead to myself and alive to Christ. I am “hidden in Him.” He is the definition of my life. Were Christ not my covering, I would stand hopeless before a holy God. Since Christ is my covering, when He appears for Who He truly is; I will too! The unblemished beauty of my life in Jesus will come to the forefront, all the sin and struggle having fallen away by His unbelievable grace. Oh, Lord, I can hardly wait for that day! We will worship you without hindrance and see the end result of what you purchased with Your blood when humans who trust You are then made completely right!
Our colossal concern between the tension points of now and then is this: Is Christ my life? Am I hidden in Him? Is He so much my obsession that He truly defines me? Am I pursuing Him like no thing and no one else? Remember this sentence from God’s Word, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.”