And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28 NIV84)

It’s no secret that followers of Christ anticipate His return. As a teenager, even though I knew He could return at any moment, I would selfishly pray that it wouldn’t happen until I graduated from High School. Then, after graduation with my diploma securely in hand, the prayer shifted to “please don’t come until I get married…..have children, etc…”. Once all of those things happened and I started experiencing life and its periodic difficulties the prayer shifted 180 degrees to: “even so, come quickly Lord!”

This verse captures the balance I believe we need as we wait for the return of our Savior. “Continue in Him”. Whether we are young and desiring to experience certain things in life or whether we are seasoned and view life through a different lens, we must continue in Him.

Continue to seek His face through prayer.
Continue to eat meals from the table of His Word.
Continue to seek the relational vitality that comes through fellowship with other “continuers”. Continue to live and walk with a sensitive ear to the Holy Spirit and allow our lives to be a true reflection of the one whose return we wait for.
Continue to raise “continuing families”
Continue, continue, continue.