Advent Devotion for December 4, 2019 from Apostles By-the-Sea - Episode 4

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

2 Peter 3:1-10

³This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you ²that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. ³First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts ⁴and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ ⁵They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, ⁶through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. ⁷But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the godless. ⁸But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Reflection:

Peter’s words in 2 Peter 3:1-10 address the coming of the Lord.  In Peter’s day some people expected that this would happen in their lifetime, and the apparent delay in his coming caused them to be impatient, discouraged, and feeling hopeless.  We too might experience times when we wonder “will he ever come?” or “what is taking so long?”. It may seem to us that God is taking a long time to act, especially in regard to Christ’s return, but Peter reminds us that God’s timing is not like ours. The beauty of God’s timing is that he is patient, not wanting any to perish, and he lovingly gives us time to come to repentance and faith. Christ will hold true to his promise to return, and as we wait, we do well to remember that he has not left us alone. He has given us the presence of the Holy Spirit as our comfort and guide.