2 Peter 3:8-13English
Standard Version (ESV)
8 But do not overlook this one fact,
beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day. 9 The
Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient
toward you,[a] not wishing that any should
perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then
the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth
and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]
11 Since all these things are thus to be
dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and
godliness, 12 waiting for
and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will
be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise
we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Our God is so
patient that He has tarried over 2000 years to return to this earth. Why so long?
According to His word, 2,000 years is merely 2 days. What is 2,000 years in eternity. I have to think of the old hymn, Amazing
Grace, “When we’ve been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less
days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.” So it is with God, He isn’t in a hurry, He is
waiting patiently for us to bring His Word to everyone. With technology and travel, there is really
no excuse for us to not reach all ends of the earth.
Just think, if
the Lord would have returned shortly after the writing of this scripture, none
of us would have ever experienced life, let alone a life with Him. The Native Americans that were on this earth
at that time would not have ever heard of the saving grace that Jesus gave to
us on the cross. No one even knew they existed
or they probably would have been on their way to evangelize. They strove to spread the Word as far as they
could take, being shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, and even killed but they did not
reach America for many years to come. It
seems, from history, that the Pilgrims tried to evangelize the Native Americans
but at the same time they were looking for a new country of their own, their
purpose was not to Evangelize, thus conflict ensued.
I was struck by
verse 12, “waiting and hastening the coming day of the God”. I have heard people pray that the Lord come
quickly but this verse seems to stress that we need to be doing our part in
this hastening. We need to be spreading
the Gospel to those around us who do not know Him. We need to be vigilant in our purpose of
spreading the Gospel. If we want the
Lord to return quickly, we need to be acting as though it depends on us while
knowing that it depends on Him (Something I took from The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, if you haven’t read it, you
should). We need to be doing our part to
make sure others are given the opportunity to meet Jesus.
There will come
a time when God will know that it is the end.
It will not be a joyous day for Him because not all of His children will
live in His presence but at the same time it will be a glorious reunion for all
of us. That is why He waits and gives us
a chance to spread His light to all. As
you pray for His return, think about what you may be doing to help speed it
along. Seek Him today and ask Him whom
He wants you to share with this day and in the coming days.
Seeking Him with
all my heart,
Sheila
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