Patience

 

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

 

Some people scoff at the idea that Jesus’s promised return will ever come. It’s been 2,000 years since His first advent, so many of us are getting impatient. Yet with the Everlasting God, a thousand years is like a day; He doesn’t work to our timescales.

Peter gives the main reason Jesus hasn’t returned yet. Today is a day of salvation, and God is patiently calling more people to repentance and faith in Him. God doesn’t want us to perish as we deserve, He wants us to change our minds about Him and to trust in Him for eternal life.

If God doesn’t want anyone to perish, why do people perish? He’s given us free will, and most people choose to reject Him. We need to repent and believe in Jesus.

If we come to repentance, we only have God to thank for working in our hearts. If we refuse to repent, we only have ourselves to blame for hardening our hearts. God is righteous whether we perish as we deserve, or whether we repent and enjoy eternity with Him.

‘Dear Lord, we want to thank You for Your patience with us. May we repent and believe the good news of salvation in You, before it’s too late. For Your glory, amen’

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