Chapter 8 — The Return

The story isn't over.

After He rose, Jesus spent forty days with His followers — eating, teaching, showing His scars. Then, on a hill outside Jerusalem, He lifted His hands, blessed them, and was taken up into the sky. They stood staring after Him until two men in white said: "This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way as you saw him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

He's coming back.

The entire Bible ends on this promise. The last prayer in the Bible is the bride — the church, all of us — crying out with the Spirit: "Come!" (Revelation 22:17). And Jesus answers: "Yes, I am coming soon" (Revelation 22:20). And John, who leaned on Jesus' chest at supper, adds his own Amen: "Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20).

This is why it all points to Him — not just backward to the cross, but forward to the day. The Lamb who was slain is the King who returns. John saw the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7–9), the Rider on the white horse (Revelation 19:11), and the name above every name (Philippians 2:9–11). "Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye will see him" (Revelation 1:7). The One with the scars will have the crown. The Man who was lifted up on a cross will be lifted up over every nation, every power, every grave.

And here's what that means for you, right now: God will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). Every wrong He will set right. Every grave He will open. The world you see — the wound of Chapter 1, still bleeding — is not the end of the story. It's the middle. And the hope Christians have always drawn from that promise is this: because He is coming, everything sad is coming untrue.

So live like the ending is real, because it is. Hold lightly to what you can't keep. Hold fiercely to Him. Tell people — the friend, the stranger, the one who's given up — that the tomb is empty and the King is coming. That's not a slogan. That's the news.

It all points to Jesus. The lambs pointed to Him. The prophets pointed to Him. On the cross He gave Himself. The empty tomb proved Him. And the sky, one day, will split open with Him.

The ultimate sacrifice, for the ultimate reason: so that anyone who turns to Him can come home.

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'... Let him who is thirsty come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17).

He's calling. Come.

Carry this: The story that began with a wound ends with a wedding. Come, Lord Jesus.