An Urgency to Connect

2 Peter 3:8 (NIV) But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Jesus promised to return, to redeem the world and return it to Heavenly status. The Disciples were thinking that meant tomorrow or next week, so they waited in anticipation for that day. "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night". (Psalm 90:4) Jesus' followers were being persecuted and they too waited in anticipation to be relieved of their pain and suffering.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
God may seem slow to act when we are waiting for our prayers to be answered. It may seem like an eternity when someone we love is still suffering, or the bills keep piling up, or the relationship is fast falling apart. But God is not slow; he just is not on our timetable.

Jesus is waiting so that more sinners will repent and turn to him. He needs us to act, to connect with that neighbor who is lost to discover real life. Jesus is waiting for our good friend to come to a relationship with Him. Jesus is waiting for our co-worker to beg for salvation and step into a new life. Jesus is waiting for you and I to act.

2 Peter 3:10 (NIV)
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 in it will be laid bare.
Time is running out for all of us. God is not on our timetable. There is an urgency to Go, and make disciples of all..." Scripture tells us Christ's second coming will be sudden and terrible for those who do not believe in him. So, why wouldn't we want to save those we know, from such calamity?

2 Peter 3:8-13

No More Blame

Romans 5:18 (MSG)
Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! 

Too many times I have pointed to Adam and Eve and declared, "It is all their fault!"  Countless times I looked at their disobedience, their selfish behavior as the reason I am so unhappy, or so uncomfortable, or so distraught. Placing the blame for my evil heart on our first ancestors is not only ridiculous, but unfair.

The truth is, if I were in their place, I probably would have done the same thing, and that, is a sobering thought. Why would I think today, that my heart's motives would have been purer than Eve's? What makes me any better than she? I never considered this probability before.  Were I in Eve's shoes (so to speak), I most likely would have behaved in the same selfish fashion. 

The comfort in all this is nothing would have changed the next steps. No matter if it were Eve or me, Jesus would still come into the world to redeem the sin. God's love for us knows no bounds and it isn't dependent on how we act. God love's us with an everlasting love.

The love Jesus has for us is the love He expects us to show others. We are to extend grace and also to pursue those who don't yet know Him.  We are to share all we have, including our faith and salvation with those who are still blind to Jesus' love  and grace.

Romans 5:12-21