God Is Patient

Chuckle:  A mother saw her young son come through the door with filthy hands.  She stopped him and said, "My goodness, what would you say if I came in the house with hands like that?"  Her son looked at her and answered, "I think I would be too polite to mention it."

 

Good Quote:   “Teach me Thy patience; still with Thee In closer, dearer company, In work that keeps faith sweet and strong, In trust that triumphs over wrong.”  --Unknown source 

 

THE PATIENCE OF GOD

 

    "The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No,  he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent" (2 Peter 3:9 NLT).

 

There are three important lessons for us in this brief passage.  The first has to do with how God views time.  The second has to do with the second coming of Christ; and the third has to do with God's desire that every human being be saved before Christ returns to claim His church.

 

In verse 8, we are told that "a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day with the Lord."  God does not measure time as we do, and the universe God created operates on His time-schedule, not ours.  When we try to guess when God will do something, that's just what it is -- a guess.  But there are signs and fulfilled prophecies that give us some hints concerning Christ's return.  God is not limited by time as He acts to achieve His purposes and He knows the most appropriate time to fulfill His promises.

 

Down through the ages, people have tried to predict the date when Christ will return and, to this point, they have all been wrong.  We are told to live with an attitude of expectancy and anticipation, but the time of Christ's return is known only to Father God himself. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father . . . Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come . . So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matthew 24:36, 42, 44 NIV). 

 

The word "slow," in our passage means to hesitate or to be hesitant.  It's telling us that God is not hesitant to fulfill His promise of Christ's return; but, out of His patience, mercy, and love, He is delaying our Lord's return so that more people will have time to repent of their sins and receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  God does not want anyone -- not a single person -- to perish by spending eternity in a place the Bible calls "Hell."

 

In view of all this, each of us would be wise to be certain we are ready to meet our Lord and that we are living in such a way that we will not be ashamed when He returns.  Then we will be in a position to hear our Lord say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant". 

 

Love, Jerry & Dotse