Re:view- From the Resurrection to His Return

Many of the books which feature a reference to Jesus return point us towards the whens and whats of that. I heard someone once say that we need to stop being the planning committee and get on the welcoming committee. I think that is a helpful way to get our head round the importance of understanding our days in light of scripture, observing our times to watch for things indicated by scripture without missing the point that the potential imminence of Jesus return is meant to inspire an urgency in living our lives in light of scripture.

[amazon-product image="http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1845505778&MarketPlace=GB&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=harvestglasgo-21&ServiceVersion=20070822" type="image"]1845505778[/amazon-product]From the Resurrection to His Return by D. A. Carson is a helpful book in this regard. It is a call to a deeper faithfulness to Christ as we await the return of Christ. Rooted in 2 Timothy 3-4 he unpacks the text to highlight the importance of how we live in the days we live in, accompanied by four very practical instructions for how to live as a disciple in the light of eternity.

'Living in the last days' (Chapter 1) helpfully draws a brief diagnosis of the age we live in. It reminds us of the tendencies and tragedy of people who are 'lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.' It calls us to be distinct from the culture in order for us to direct the culture to Jesus. Although brief, this chapter is a timely reminder of the importance of knowing our times while clinging to our saviour. Quote of the chapter was undoubtedly this 'The antithesis of loving God is worse than not loving God: it is loving something else supremely, most commonly ourselves or things we covet.'

'Hold the Right Mentors in High Regard' (Chapter 2), 'Hold Few Illusions About the World' (Chapter 3), Hold Onto the Bible' (Chapter 4) and 'Hold out the Bible for Others' (Chapter 5) offer good concise and clear instruction on how to discern the world we live in while devoting to the Lord we live for. They provide some useful principles and pointers on things to incorporate urgently into our discipleship. In the call to faithfulness, that the scriptures in question provide, they are eminently practical and practicable concepts to guard our hearts against spiritual drift or disaster.

'From the Resurrection to His Return' offers a straightforward and accessible look at daily discipleship in a deteriorating culture. It calls you to the right now of His return.

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