Easter and the Return of Jesus

It has been quite a few years since Jesus was raised from the dead.
Do you expect him to return?

I was recently looking at 2 Peter chapter 3 in the Introducing God course. I was struck again with how significant the return of Christ is to the early Christians - and yet how far it can be from my mind. 2 Peter 3 has a number of important things to teach us.

Firstly, the delay in Jesus' return is because God is merciful and wants everyone to come to repentance.
3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance".

Secondly, Jesus' return can come any day - we just don't know which day.
3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief".

Thirdly, the prospect of Jesus' return is a call to holiness.
3:11 "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming".

The prospect of Jesus' return is presumably a call to holiness because our God is a holy and righteous God. When we meet him face to face we will no doubt see ourselves as we really are - and that may not be such a comforting experience!

I don't know about you, but I think often about the future: what will it hold, what will we be doing, what will it look like. But I rarely stop to think about the iminent return of Christ. And I rarely focus my mind on being ready for his coming. But how edifying would it be to spend more time thinking about the return of our holy and righteous God? Might that not help us spend less time worrying about things that don't matter, and help us spend more time reflecting on God's beauty and our future with him?

What do you think?
Image courtesy of ziptrivia.com