God Didn’t Return Last Night

Growing up, we are taught to live as if Christ is going to return at any moment. It could be tonight, is the lesson each year especially during Holy Week. Well….if you are reading this, He didn’t return last night, and He didn’t for your sake.

Beloved, this is now the second letter that I have written to you, and in both of them I have aroused your sincere mind by way of reminder; that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.  First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.”  They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.  But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  But 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 the works that are upon it will be burned up. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire!  But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.  And count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation.  So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters.  There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.  You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.

2^nd Peter 3.1-18

In our innocence we desire to know why God does what He does. We experience our struggle here on earth and ask, “Why hasn’t God rescued me yet?” We NEVER think the answer was that He chose delay for our sake. This is the message of today’s reading from Saint Peter.

The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

When we consider that God is delayed, to give us a chance to repent, then we should be thankful each morning we awake. Each time our ‘feet touch the ground’ we should be thanking God we are standing in our bedroom rather than in front of His Judgment Seat.

God is the ultimate example of patience. Knowing we would sin, He still set us in the Garden and watched with sadness when our ancestors walked away. He still let Noah and his family walk out of the Ark, knowing it wouldn’t take long for sin to return.

After every sin, God gives us another chance to repent. After every sin, rather than thanking God for the chance to repent, we question why life has to be so hard. Eventually, when waiting even another minute would mean nobody was saved, God will return. Then it will be too late.

Since God decided not to return tonight, we have another chance today to repent. Don’t waste it. We don’t know if tonight is the night or if tomorrow we will have another chance. Don’t take advantage of God’s patience.

Saint John Chrysostom reminds us that we shouldn’t get lazy thinking God hasn’t judged us ‘just because’ we are still alive. Judgment is coming. It would be wrong to think His patience will last forever.