When I was a teenager, my parents would occasionally leave for a weekend and let me, my older sister, and my younger brother stay at home by ourselves. We would relax and have fun on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, however, we would scramble to clean up the house. While we didn’t know exactly when they would return on Sunday, we wanted to make sure we were ready for them. If the house was in good condition, then we knew that they would be happy with us. If they returned to a mess, we knew that they would be upset. They were coming home soon, and their return would involve judging us for how we handled the house during their absence. I confess that I was not usually excited about my parents returning from their weekends away. This was not because I didn’t love them. It was simply because I didn’t like the idea that I would be judged. The fact is that very few of us like being judged. Because of this, most of us don’t automatically get excited about the idea of Jesus return for the purpose of bringing judgment. On the one hand, we love Jesus. On the other hand, we hate judgment. Our perspective might change, however, if we think a little more about judgment. A judge doesn’t simply dole out punishments. A judge sets things right. A judge brings justice and order. While we may not like being judged, most of us love it when order is returned to something that was once chaotic. When we look at the disorder of the world, most of us long for someone to fix things. The one who has promised to fix things is Jesus, the final judge. This lesson will delve into both the return and the final judgment of Jesus Christ. We look forward to these events with sobriety and with hope. We are made sober by the reality that Jesus will bring judgment, and we are made hopeful by the promise that order will finally be restored.