No motorist would use a rearview mirror to view the road ahead, so those who look back to Christ’s birth should look forward to his return. We delight in the angel of the Lord bringing the good news of the Saviour’s birth, the glory of the Lord shining around about and the heavenly choir singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth!” It’s good to join the angels in celebrating Christ’s birth, even if the Bible doesn’t tell us to do so.
We need to look back occasionally—that’s why our cars have rear-vision mirrors. But the big view is through the front windscreen. The apostle Paul wrote that in communion we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes,” he was saying that Christ’s death is a present proclamation of a future event, and as such is more than the memory of a past one. It is a powerful graphic of Jesus dying for our sins, not a sepia-toned still of a silent tomb (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Many Christians see Christ’s transfiguration as a display of his divinity, but to Peter who witnessed the event it was a reminder that he should look forward to the future. Matthew informs us that when Jesus was transfigured “his face shone like the sun, and his clothing was as white as the light.” Mark tells us that the garments of Jesus “shone brightly, white like snow; whiter than any earthly bleacher could bleach them.”
Not long before his death Peter wrote: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from the Father honour and glory, when there came a voice to him from the excellent glory, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice, which came from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16-18)
Peter’s subject is “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”, not Christ’s divine nature or his first coming as a babe in a manger. In the next verse, Peter refers to prophecy as “a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.” We know the Morning Star as the planet Venus, which remains visible to the eye as the sun rises to usher in a new day. Peter’s vision of Christ’s return to this earth in power and glory kept him looking forward, expectantly.
In looking back to Christ’s birth, we should not forget to look forward to the most glorious event this world will ever see: the return of our Lord Jesus Christ in power and glory, and the resurrection of every true believer to immortality. Is the Morning Star rising in your heart?