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.
2 Peter 3:9 NIV
Today's extract gives us a small glimpse into the heart of God. Man's heart was the focus of yesterday's piece, as we carefully examined the investments of God in a man's heart. No matter how far a man wanders away from God, God never lets go. His deposit of treasures in a man's heart makes it impossible for God to give up on man. He does not waste resources, so if He gives it, He wants to profit from them as man uses the resources for his glory. However, the warning here is this: God will play his part, but you can be sure that God will demand an account of all that He gives.
His nature and power make it impossible for man to live as he pleases without consequences. The Bible has stories of men who lived for God, as well as those who lived for their own pleasure. The end of the story always showed that God's Word cannot be broken: God will play his part, but man must take responsibility for his decisions and actions. One of God's promises is about the end of all time, when the heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire. All the fine houses, cars and possessions have an unbreakable appointment with fire. In that light, God calls us to pursue after the things that have eternal value, such as salvation from sin.
Men have heard this message several times, and it seems that it has lost its shock value; but then you see the effect of the power of the Word of God, and you realise it is still very active. He is still changing men and calling them to service and impact in his kingdom. He is still at work on the earth, and how he reaches men and changes them from within still remains his forte and expertise. So, when I am tempted to look at the world and think that God has lost it, I must remember that God is not like man: helpless, clueless and blind. The fact that He 'seems' slow to punish must not be taken as weakness or stupidity but as love for the heart and life of the sinner.
When it seems you do wrong and 'get away' with it, remember the heart of God. When you see the wickedness of the world around you, reflect on the love of God that does not destroy immediately and completely. When I am tempted to think that I am perfect by the labour and striving of my hands, I remember that it is only by grace that a man is able to stand. The love of God is such that he will leave 99 sheep safe and go in search of the 1 that wandered off. No life is so inconsequential that God will give up on it. As long as He created it, He will help it to succeed. Men may give up and condemn; God's nature does not allow him to condemn without first warning.
Now, this is further confirmation of God's heart: judgment is coming. The time for it may differ from person to person, but it is an appointment all of us must keep. There is no one who will not keep this appointment, as this earthly life is not the peak of all that God plans for us. The end of salvation is eternal life. God saved us from sin, so we could live as His children down here, as we prepare for our eternal home with God. He does not rejoice over the death of a anyone who dies without Christ, and he will do anything, even move heaven and earth, where a life is involved. He hates sin, but loves the sinner. If that is his heart, and I claim to be his child, I can't do less than that.
Can I love other people the same way He does? Can I seek after their spiritual wellbeing the same way God does? Can I love people, no matter what their past and present look like, so that their future can be sorted out by God? God cannot delight in the eternal destruction of a life that He creates, and I also must not rejoice when someone who sins dies in his sin. The appropriate response must be that my heart seeks after that which God seeks after: that everyone comes to repentance. It does not matter what the past or present look like; God's love can take all that mess and turn it into His own message. While there is time, I must take advantage of this love, embrace it and make it mine. Eternity lies at the end of all these. May the Lord make us all worthy at the end of our lives. God's time of favour is here.
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