Daily Verse
Friday, August 21, 2026
Christ's Return
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Friday's Reflection
1 John 3:2-3 — Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
John looks ahead to the moment of Christ's appearing and makes a breathtaking promise: when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. The long struggle with sin, the weakness we fight against every day, the gap between the people we are and the people we long to be — all of it will be resolved in that instant. To see Christ face to face will be to be transformed into His likeness at last. This is the destiny of every believer, and it is so glorious that John admits we cannot even fully picture it yet: it does not yet appear what we shall be.
But then John does something we might not expect. He takes this future hope and turns it into a present power. Everyone who has this hope in him, he says, purifies himself, even as Christ is pure. In other words, the hope of Christ's return is not meant only to comfort us about the future; it is meant to change how we live right now. If we truly believe we will one day be like Jesus, that belief begins to pull us toward Him today. The hope of what we will become shapes the people we are becoming. It is a purifying hope.
This is how the whole doctrine of Christ's return comes home to daily life. It is not merely something to study or debate; it is something that reaches into how we treat our families, spend our time, and handle temptation this week. A person who lives with the appearing of Christ genuinely before them lives differently — cleaner, kinder, more focused on what will last. The blessed hope is not an escape from present responsibility but a motivation for it. We purify ourselves now because we know Whom we are going to see, and what we are going to become when we see Him.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the promise that when You appear, we shall be like You. Let that hope do its purifying work in us today, drawing us toward Your likeness now. Shape how we live this week by the certainty of who we will become when we see You. Amen.