10 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 done in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 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. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, 2 Peter 3
In times like these I can’t help but pray for the return of Jesus. I don’t know if these are the darkest times in history. I haven’t lived through all of history. In my sixty-seven years there have been dark times, wars and famine, disasters natural and man-made. Somehow these days seem the darkest of all. If the measure is righteousness, I can’t imagine a darker time.
At some point, the patience of God will end and a new heaven and a new earth will emerge. It’s singular characteristic is that these will be places where righteousness dwells. That will occur by the complete unrestrained presence of God and His people, and the removal of Satan and his folks. What a glorious day.
It’s clear however that we aren’t to just sit and wait. As Peter says we look forward to the day of God but also “speed its coming.” How in the world do we do that? When Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God, it seemed simultaneously, here, at hand, and coming. It will certainly not exist perfectly until the earth and heavens are new. However, since Jesus it exists in a foretelling, glorious glimpse. What will be so great about the new heaven and earth will be the prevalence of righteousness. We experience a taste of that when righteousness prevails. It doesn’t do so universally, but it can prevail in his body the church.
It isn’t created by our doing of good, but by our resting in Him. We experience it in moments we describe as a taste or touch or glimpse of heaven. I get these when I stop struggling, working and straining and do some abiding.
I have a recliner that I love. I spend lots of time in it. It’s where I write these blogs and do my legal work. From it I can look out and see the beauty and constant change of nature. I see family as it grows and time as it passes. I think that’s how we should be with God. We should eagerly await his full coming, but rest in His real presence. Resting in Christ doesn’t mean that nothing gets done. It means things get done more perfectly. The things we do are according to His plan and follow his direction.
We can speed the coming of the Day of the Lord by resting more in his righteousness at peace with Him.
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