Patience is a virtue, but it doesn't happen to be a virtue of mine. If I have a "thorn in the flesh" as Paul did, impatience would be it. Fortunately, God is not like me:
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
God's patience is our opportunity. In God's gracious patience He is withholding judgment upon a wicked world. His patience is the opportunity for repentance and evangelism.
But, lest we mistake God's patience for inaction, we are reminded that He WILL act:
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10)
With abrupt suddenness, God's patience will end and His judgment will begin. At the end of His patience the very elements of all matter ("atomos", or "atoms") will be broken open to unleash all their energy in fiery destruction.
We live in a world that is totally oblivious to this certainty. The frenetic pace which people live their lives, and the indulgent, self-centered focus of their lives is a denial of this coming certainty. As believers seeking to live in God's grace we are kindred spirits with Noah in advance of the flood, and righteous Lot living in Sodom and Gomorrah. Our burden is to live unstained in the world even as we hold out God's grace to all who will receive.
With an appreciation of God's patient grace and an awareness of His coming judgment, Peter concludes his short letter with this important admonition:
"but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18)
In order to grow we must be watered and nourished, like a plant. It is imperative that we "plant" ourselves amidst the Word, prayer, and the supportive Bible-based fellowship of a body of believers. As we focus on the grace of God shown in Jesus, and the knowledge of God personified in Him, we are productive and protected from God's certain judgment.
Savor God's grace today even as you extend it to others.
Steve
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
God's patience is our opportunity. In God's gracious patience He is withholding judgment upon a wicked world. His patience is the opportunity for repentance and evangelism.
But, lest we mistake God's patience for inaction, we are reminded that He WILL act:
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10)
With abrupt suddenness, God's patience will end and His judgment will begin. At the end of His patience the very elements of all matter ("atomos", or "atoms") will be broken open to unleash all their energy in fiery destruction.
We live in a world that is totally oblivious to this certainty. The frenetic pace which people live their lives, and the indulgent, self-centered focus of their lives is a denial of this coming certainty. As believers seeking to live in God's grace we are kindred spirits with Noah in advance of the flood, and righteous Lot living in Sodom and Gomorrah. Our burden is to live unstained in the world even as we hold out God's grace to all who will receive.
With an appreciation of God's patient grace and an awareness of His coming judgment, Peter concludes his short letter with this important admonition:
"but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18)
In order to grow we must be watered and nourished, like a plant. It is imperative that we "plant" ourselves amidst the Word, prayer, and the supportive Bible-based fellowship of a body of believers. As we focus on the grace of God shown in Jesus, and the knowledge of God personified in Him, we are productive and protected from God's certain judgment.
Savor God's grace today even as you extend it to others.
Steve
posted by steve @ 9:47 AM
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