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Reasons for the Waiting


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. 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 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. (II Peter 3:8-12)

      When I was a kid, one of my neighbor's parents scolded me because I was scaring her daughter with stories from the book of Revelation. I had thought it was exciting. Recently in a Sunday School class, we had a discussion about the Day of the Lord. In some places, it is described as great. In others, it's terrible. It's day same day, the difference is in the perspectives of the audience. For some it will be the overthrow of all they hold dear. For others, it will be the day in which things are made right. according to Peter, we're supposed to be the type for whom it is a great day, the day in which things are made right, when what is corrupt is destroyed and what is right will be renewed.
          This morning, I find myself thinking about John the Baptizer in jail. The one who announced that Jesus was the One sent word from jail asking, "Are you the One?" because things weren't going the way he thought they would. The disciples kept thinking things would go differently. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, 2.7 million people convert to Christianity each year. Even if they are wrong, and the actual number is only 270,000, it should give us hope and bring us joy. There is a reason for God's seeming delay. There was a year in which I was one of those. There was a year in which you were. Every day that God delays is a day in which His grace is shown. The day will come when, in His wisdom, He'll say "It is finished," again, or maybe, 'That's enough."
          We're to look forward to that day. While we wait, we're supposed to get ready. We're to live holy and godly lives. We're to get ready, to develop our spiritual life so that when that day comes, we're not like newborn babes, unable to function, and we are to be available should God decide to call us to be midwives tending the birth of another of the 2.7 million who will be spiritually born this year, or next, or the one after....

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