Hasten the Day

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people 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 set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

(2 Peter 3:11-13 ESV)

Even though we have the promise of Christ, and even though we live with the hope of his coming, it seems that we would rather put it off.  We would rather he not come, at least not for a while. We would rather he not come because we’re not yet ready to let go of the things of this life.

When we consider what he’s promised us, this seems absolutely crazy. He’s promised us eternal life in his kingdom. He’s promised us eternal life in his presence. He’s promised us eternal life where sin and its consequences are no more.

In the kingdom of God, we will not struggle with temptation and our sinful nature. In the kingdom of God, we will not suffer. In the kingdom of God, we will not die. All of these will be a thing of the past.

Yet, we would rather put it off for a while. We would rather continue on in this present world. We would rather enjoy more time with our family. We’d rather spend more time enjoying our home. We’d rather spend more time traveling or enjoying our hobbies. Even knowing that the blessings God has in store for us are so much greater, we would rather enjoy the pleasures of this life a while longer.

Often, we would rather put it off for a while that we might indulge our sinful nature a bit more. We would rather pander to our sinful longings. Instead of hating our sin and longing to be free of it, we enjoy it. And, frankly, we’re disappointed that we won’t be able to forever satisfy our lusts.

Peter tells us that, realizing these things are to be dissolved, we should live lives of holiness and godliness. As people of faith, we must turn from our sinful desires in a spirit of repentance. As people of faith, we must value the Lord and his blessings even more than the people and things we love most in this life.

Realizing these things will be dissolved, we should be waiting for the coming of the day of God. In fact, he says that we should hasten the day. We should long for the day of his coming, and we should long for it to come quickly.