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“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years a one day. 9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9
Last time we looked at what a Pharisee standing before an altar prayed, and what he did not pray. With Peter’s epistle, we are given a clear contrast between the Pharisee’s attitude to those he considered unworthy of the Gospel. God truly desires that all men everywhere would repent of their sin. His desire for repentance goes so far that He has been willing to endure devastating sufferings and untold injustices for thousands of years.
Peter points out that our age, greatly abusing this mercy can be easily lulled to sleep as things continue as they always have. The ungodly use this as a pretext for sinning because they scoff at God’s judgment. Those lukewarm in the faith remain listless. But the godly are mindful of the suddenness of God’s appearing, both as it applies to themselves and to others.
Christians who understand the differing currents of our age are frustrated by the intransigence of the listless as they are aware of the sufferings endured by the church. Christ compels us to pray for each of these groups – those oppressing, those oppressed, and those on the sidelines.
A clear understanding of our own unworthiness before God, coupled with a greater awareness of the extent of His mercy towards us, and motivated by His word that states that he will, “Come like a thief in the night,” should lead us to pray earnestly and diligently that all might come to know Christ. Like our Savior, we should desire that all might come to know Him.
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