It WILL Change Your Life!

“It will change your life!”  This is the implied statement behind all kinds of advertising. The right car will make you a success and bring you respect.  A splash of cologne will make you irresistible. This pill will extend your youth.  We learn to ignore the hyperbole after a while, discounting the claims, explicit and implicit, in the ads. Please don’t discount what you’re about to read. It really is a Truth that will change your life.

In the 3^rd chapter of Peter’s second letter, we are told about the “day of the Lord.”  When Jesus ended his ministry here on earth, He promised to return. Human history will be brought to a close,  perfect justice will be handed down, and the present order will be destroyed before the emergence of a ‘new heaven and new earth.’  Peter writes all this not as a feared threat, but as a promise to be eagerly anticipated by Christians. Paul calls the return of Christ our ‘blessed hope.’ (Titus 2:13)  In my estimation, this doctrine is largely off the radar of most Christians today.  Taken up with life, we lose sight of the fact that all this is destined to pass away, that our real home is not here, but with our Father.

If we look forward, consciously and eagerly, to the coming of the Lord, that truth will change our lives. How? Take a look. "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives" (2 Peter 3:11, NIV)  "… since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." (2 Peter 3:14, NIV) "… since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." (2 Peter 3:17-18, NIV)

Peter’s appeal is not to fear or dread. It is a tragedy when the Lord’s return is used in that way to manipulate Christians into giving money or serving in ministry.  If we only fear His coming, we will act like kids in December, won’t we?  Every little kid who believes in Santa Claus suddenly starts to think about reforming himself so that the jolly old man will bring the presents! But the effort is short-lived.  The Christian who understands that Christ’s return is still on schedule (God’s time, not ours!) will not reform himself for a few days or weeks. He will reorient his entire life, looking away from trinkets destined to perish to treasure set aside in Heaven that will survive the destruction of this present world.

There is a little phrase tucked into Peter’s writing that urges us to live “at peace with Him.”  We tend to think of peace as being the absence of conflict but that is not what the Spirit is offering to us. When our hope is settled on our eternal inheritance, on the promise of God’s just rewards,  we gain a life that is whole, complete, and ‘settled’ rather than fragmented and/or confused.  This true Peace is a quality of life that flows from the Spirit and choices that look past economic woes, present illness, and disappointment.

Christ return, though often mocked as a pie in sky illusion, is a truth that changes our lives! Here’s the word from the Word. "This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember and understand what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles. First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at the truth and do every evil thing they desire." (2 Peter 3:1-3, NLT)  "But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent." (2 Peter 3:8-9, NLT)  "But grow in the special favor and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be all glory and honor, both now and forevermore. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18, NLT)

Lord, settle it deep into our hearts and minds, lifting our goals higher, settling us on a solid foundation of unshakeable hope. Amen.