Most of us have checked the porch for a package that was "out for delivery" all day and started to wonder if it was ever coming. Peter wrote to people who were wondering the same thing about God.
2 Peter 3:9-13 — KJV
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2 Peter 3:9-13 — WEB
9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Explanation
Second Peter reads like a last letter. Peter knows his time is short, and he wants the church to hold steady after he's gone. One problem worried him. Some people were mocking the promise that Jesus would return. "Where is this coming He promised?" they asked. "Everything just keeps going the way it always has." A generation had passed, and the world looked the same. Maybe God wasn't coming at all.
Peter's answer is today's passage. God isn't slow the way we think of slow. He isn't running late or distracted. He is longsuffering, which is the old word for patient. The delay is mercy. God doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to come to repentance, which simply means turning around and coming home. Every day that hasn't been the last day is another day for somebody to turn.
But Peter won't let us turn patience into an excuse. The day will come like a thief in the night, unannounced. The things we treat as permanent, the stock market, the house, the job title, will not last. So Peter asks the real question: what kind of people should we be? People who live holy, ordinary lives, looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness finally lives. Last Monday we read about that city in Revelation 21. Peter tells us how to live while we wait for it.
Here's how this connects to Sunday. Last week's lesson ended in disaster. Israel's leaders failed, the ark of God was captured, and a dying mother named her baby Ichabod: "the glory is departed." What came next? Twenty long years. The ark sat in a man's house in Kirjath-jearim, and the Bible says all Israel "lamented after the LORD." Twenty years is a long time to feel far from God. But He was waiting, not walking away. Sunday's lesson, "Samuel: God's Prophet and Judge," is the story of how that waiting ended, when one faithful leader called the people home and they finally came.
Maybe you're living in your own twenty years. You haven't been to church since the funeral. You've been meaning to call your brother for a decade. You assume God gave up on you a long time ago. Peter says the delay you've been reading as rejection is actually an open door. God isn't slow. He's making room for you. Don't wait for the thief in the night to find out how patient He's been. Turn around today. The porch light is still on.
Thought for the Day
God isn't slow. He's making room for you to come home.
Reflection Question
What have you been putting off with God because you assumed there would always be more time?
Prayer
Patient God, thank You for every day You've given us to turn around. Forgive us for mistaking Your mercy for slowness, and for treating Your patience like permission to stay away. Draw home everyone we love who has wandered, and draw us home too. Make us people who live holy, hopeful lives while we wait for You. In Jesus' name, amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: Samuel: God's Prophet and Judge.