Advent DAY 5 The Gift of Waiting

II Peter 3:3-9, 11b-13 (GNT) ³ First of all, you must understand that in the last days some people will appear whose lives are controlled by their own lusts. They will make fun of you ⁴ and will ask, “He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world. ⁸ But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins. ^11b … what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, ¹² as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon—the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat. ¹³ But we wait for what God has promised: new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home.

It had been proclaimed that the risen Christ would return. But thus far, nothing had happened. So Peter is saying that there will be mocking of those who wait for the return of Christ. How do we respond to modern mockers? Do we set up elaborate proofs? Do we devise defensive statements and mount sharp arguments? Peter answers with two statements. One is a statement about God. The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you. God is not irrelevant, indifferent, or impotent in the affairs of our life. God is patient and does not take back the freedom He has given us, even it if causes us grief and trouble, and He gives us ample opportunity to come to Him just as the prodigal son returned to the father. The loving patience of God is the loving patience we see in Jesus who delayed two days even after hearing that Martha and Mary were grief stricken over the death of their brother Lazarus, who sat on a hillside and watched His disciples fight for their very lives in a storm tossed sea, and who remained on a Cross even when the crowd taunted Him. The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you. Is that a reason or a rationalization? A revelation or a cover up?

Peter then makes a second statement, about you and me. What kind of people should you be? Our lives should be holy and dedicated to God, as we wait for the Day of God. Those who live expecting and earnestly longing for the coming of the day of the Lord have a faith that is constant because they have the grace of the gift of waiting. Waiting is a wonderful, soul-surviving gift for those who have received it. God’s patience is meant to be met by our steadfastness. With such a faith we begin to sense that somehow we are partners with God in the fulfillment of His purpose both for our life and our world. For once we have seen God in the cradle and that stable we can never be sure where God will appear again or to what lengths God will go or to what depth of humiliation God will descend to in order to reach us and to touch our lives with His presence in Christ Jesus.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope November 29, 1987

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles