2 Peter 3:8-15: An Eternity Not So Jarring

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. - 2 Peter 3:8-15

What do you really want to last? Because that is what is going with you into eternity. There are none of us who will bring one asset or accomplishment into eternity. We only bring ourselves.  "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you be?"

But will we like that? I am not always sure that I would like living with myself for eternity. I'm not sure that other people would like to live with me for eternity. How is it that Jesus can offer no regret? I can see many gaps, not just in resume but in my character, which I wish were smoothed over like spackle over holes in my wall. Some of eternity will be spent, I think, in comparing the choices I made and  comparing them with the goodness of God. Even with the redeemed character of Christ living in me, there will be a dissonance and some time for resolution.

Maybe that is why the Bible reminds us to "make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." We will enjoy forever better if the dissonance is not so jarring, where the fulness of the grace of God doesn't shock when it is revealed because we have been living with it here on earth. 

2 Peter 3:8-15: Renewal Implies Not Clinging To The Status Quo

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. - 2 Peter 3:8-15

 Peter told believers who were toughing it out that in the world that In all this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6-7) The timing and the language at the start of this first letter is very similar to the timing and language at the end of the second letter of Peter.  There is a period of time, Jesus is revealed, the world is stripped back to its essentials. The degenerative effects of sin that scar God's people and his creation and they can be renewed in the new heaven and the new earth. 

Peter implies that God's timetable for all this happening is less about dates and more about the readiness of his people to receive him. We should live "holy and godly lives" will "speed its [the day of the Lord] coming." The contrast is with the world which is being destroyed. The implication is that if we are so attached to this world and the way things are now then we will not long for the renewal that God plans.  If God doesn't find that his own people do not long for his return, then he will wait. 

Luke 15:32: Lost and Found and Hiding

"...he was lost and is found." - Luke 15:32b

The story of the lost sons (or the prodigal son) is a familiar one to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the teachings of Jesus. Here is the subversive genius of the son of man's storytelling on full display, with its evocative imagery, masterful use of irony and insider's view into the heart of God.[1] But what has been bugging me for the past few months is this last verse from the story: "he was lost and is found."

Referring to the younger son, it begs the question: who "lost" him and who "found" him? We often use these terms in Christian circles in the reflexive voice: he lost his way or she found herself, referring to someone regaining direction or purpose in life. When looking at Jesus story then, we focus on the character of the two sons. The younger son loses his way, running from the father and in a moment of insight finds his way back to his father. The older son loses his way, physically close but emotionally far away and, in moment of angry disclosure, reveals his bitterness towards his father.

But, as accurate as these insights about the two sons may be, it is not how Jesus is using the terms "lost" and "found". In the parallel story of the lost sheep, the shepherd loses one sheep and then goes to find it. In the story of the lost coin, the woman loses one coin and then sweeps and searches to find it.  So ,also, the father loses his sons and wishes to find them.

How did the father lose them? Not by negligence or ignorance, but by conscious and deliberate choice. They chose to hide. Physically or emotionally, they separated themselves.

How did the father find them? This is interesting. With the coin and the sheep, we see immediate, directed action to recover them. But with the sons, the father seems passive, permissive and even impotent. Why? Because his sons must want to be found.

Imagine if the father sent out his hired men to find the younger son in the foreign land and forced him to return. Imagine if the father forced his older son to attend the banquet thrown for the younger son. The father does not just want their presence, he wants their hearts. So the most active, effective thing the father could do to find them is to wait and welcome.

Both sons wanted the bounty of the father, but without the father (cf. Luke 15:13, 15:29b). They are lost. The father waits for both sons and welcomes both sons to the feast. The story ends with the father waiting to see if the older son is willing to be found.

It is a question the Father still asks: are you willing to be found or do you still want to hide?

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

[1]A masterful treatment can be found in the slim volume Prodigal God by Tim Keller. See http://www.timothykeller.com/books/the-prodigal-god.