To
read: 2 Peter 3:1-10
Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of
persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for
and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in
accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where
righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience 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, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless 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.
Text from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To think about:
Advent brings thoughts of "Be Prepared," "Be Alert," "Prepare for the Birth of
Christ." This seems to be a very personal or singular contemplation, but I think
today's text invites us to open our hearts and minds to a broader concept. As we
await the return of Jesus, the seasonal observance of the birth of Jesus, or the
very coming of the day of God - what will we be doing? I suggest we look around.
Look at what needs to be done, look at our community, look at our nation, look
at our world, and ask, "What can I do?" How can I help God's people, how can I
improve relations between God's people, how can I care for God's world? The time
may well be long before we see the coming of Christ, but shouldn't we be about
the work of God while we wait?
