God's Patience Is His Passion

2 Peter 3:8-14

8 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. 9 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.

10 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 done in it will be laid bare.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

God’s Patience Is His Passion

“Soon” is a relative term. If you tell an almost 3-year-old that we’ll be there “soon,” when he asks, “Are we there yet,” you can be sure that he’ll ask the exact same question again within the next 30 seconds. If Canada Post tells you that you can expect your Christmas package to be delivered “soon,” you probably shouldn’t expect it until sometime next week. If the Department of Transportation tells you that construction on the stretch of road that you take to work every day will be done “soon,” set a reminder on your calendar for five years from now and see if they’re not still working on it.

“Soon” is a relative term. But if we’re being fair, I think we often forget how gargantuan an effort it is to pave a road or build some hypothetical bridge, maybe on the southwest corner of the Anthony Henday over the North Saskatchewan River just before you get to Terwillegar… It takes literal tons of materials and tools and heavy machinery and expertise and engineering and manpower, not to mention the financial resources to pull it all off. 5 years might actually be “soon” for a big construction project like that.

On the other hand, for that 3-year-old, the day it takes for you to travel over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house for Christmas represents about 0.0009% of his entire life. That might not seem like much to you, but that same percentage for the 3-year-old’s 36-year-old dad would come to almost two weeks of his life. That’s almost a whole month for his 74-year-old granddad. Proportionately speaking, that one day is not “soon” at all, is it? It’s a long time!

“Soon” is a relative term. It depends on who you are and what you’re talking about. If what you’re trying to accomplish requires great effort, we can usually find it in us to be patient. If you are short on time, however, patience can be harder to come by.

Peter talked about patience in our second reading for today – both our patience with God and God’s patience with us. And what Peter found was that God is much more willing to be patient with us than we often are with him. In fact, Peter would suggest that patience is even God’s passion.

We’ll get to that in a second, but first I want you to understand why Peter writes what he does. A few minutes ago, you heard Rob read these words:

With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.[1]

What we didn’t read is what prompted this passage. Earlier in this same chapter, Peter writes:

In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.[2]

Peter is addressing the fear that because Jesus has not come back, as he promised he would, that means that Jesus is a promise-breaker and that our faith has been founded in a fairy tale, that should be believed no more than Santa Claus, Jack Frost, or Buddy the Elf.

Jesus promised Peter that he would come back soon. It’s been 2,000 years! I mean, I know that “soon” is a relative concept, but is there any circumstance in which 2,000 years can be considered soon? At what point should our Christian patience in God run dry? What if it has already?

Think about it. Do you wake up every morning thinking that this might be the day that Christ comes back? What would that even look like? Would you make your bed? Would you dress up, get a haircut, shave? If Jesus were coming today and this was your last day on earth before an eternity in heaven, how would you feel while you were eating breakfast?

I honestly don’t know what I’d do. I know some things that I wouldn’t do, though. I wouldn’t get frustrated that my son woke me up an hour earlier than I wanted. If I knew that Jesus were coming back today, I wouldn’t feel panicked at breakfast thinking about all the work that’s been piling up on my desk. I wouldn’t stress out over retirement plans, RESPs, TFSAs, etc… I wouldn’t get upset about whatever petty thing my neighbour or family member did to me. I wouldn’t let my depression or anxiety spin me into a cycle of sinful coping mechanisms. I wouldn’t go the whole day without thinking about or praying to God – he’d be about the only thing I could think about!

Or maybe you could think about it this way. When you hear Peter say,

“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 done in it will be laid bare.”[3]

Does that make you happy or sad? Does that make you hopeful or fearful?

Are there things in this life that you’re not ready to let go of yet? If your sports team is currently on a heater, would you rather that Jesus not come back until after the championship so that you could enjoy going out on top? Are you looking forward to Christmas so much that you’d rather Jesus wait until all your presents are opened and your family goes home before he destroys the world? If Jesus came today, would you be disappointed that you didn’t get to see your children grow up, or your career blossom, or get your chance to ask that special someone out on a date?

Maybe we’re not as ready for Jesus to return as we thought. Maybe our patience for God to keep his promises is or has already dried up.

But that’s why I’m thankful that God’s patience is his passion. Listen to what Peter said at the beginning of this passage again:

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.[4]

It’s been 2,000 years since Jesus promised to come back. Is there any circumstance in which 2,000 years can be considered “soon”? Yes! Remember what we said before: If what you’re trying to accomplish is worth it, then it doesn’t matter how long it takes.

What is God trying to accomplish? Your repentance and therefore also your salvation.

God doesn’t want anyone to perish. Put yourself in God’s shoes. If he had pulled the plug on this world at any point in the last 2,000 years, how many people would have perished? If God had initiated the self-destruct sequence on this planet at any point within the last 2 millennia, how many believers and therefore also future residents of heaven would never have been born?

Or, let me ask the question this way: what if, the only reason that this world is still spinning – that Jesus hasn’t come back yet – is because he wanted you to come to repentance, to believe and be saved; or for you to bring the good news of salvation to someone you haven’t spoken to yet, but who, because of you, will believe in him? What if that’s the only reason that we’re all still here, i.e. because God is patient with you?

How would that make you feel? Honoured. Humbled. Loved. Empowered.

We talk a lot about the cross of Christ, and we should. That’s where our God demonstrated his incredible love for us. He sacrificed his sinless Son for sinners like us. Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to give his life for people who are often too wrapped up in their own lives to love him. God loved you so much that he saved you from your sin and gave you real reason to look forward to the End – not to be afraid, not to regret or resent the missed opportunities or unfulfilled dreams, but to eagerly anticipate the day that this world and everything in it will be gone and we will be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him in a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

We talk a lot about the cross of Christ, and we should. But there is just as much of God’s love on display in the patience he has demonstrated these last 2,000 years. God is patient with you. He does not want you to perish. He wants you to repent and be saved. He wants you to look forward to the day of God with eagerness in your heart.

That is only possible by faith in Jesus. Without the forgiveness he won for us, the day of the Lord would be a terrifying and dreadful prospect. But because he has taken away your sin, you can live every day as if it will be your last.

So, I’ll ask it again: What would it look like to wake up every morning thinking that this might be the day that Christ comes back? Would you make your bed? Would you dress up, get a haircut, shave? I don’t know that those really matter. Would you repent? Would you apologize for the sinful way you’ve spent your days and the selfish ambitions you sometimes allow to exceed your eagerness to be reunited with your Saviour? Would you strive to spend the rest of that day living a holy and godly life? I pray you do.

But when you inevitably fail and at the end of the day take stock of your standing with your God, put your hope and confidence in the Christ who is coming back. He’s the same one who came 2,000 years ago to take away your sin. And he’s coming again to take you home to heaven, where you won’t have to deal with frustrations and fears from the outside, or guilt and shame on the inside. He is coming again to take you to heaven where you will live in his righteousness and be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him because of him.

2,000 years may not seem very soon to you. But I am eternally grateful that God has waited this long so that you and I could know his love; so that you and I could repent and be saved; and so that you and I could learn to change our prayers from, “Wait, Lord, I have so much left I want to do,” to, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly. Amen.”

[1] 2 Peter 3:8

[2] 2 Peter 3:3,4

[3] 2 Peter 3:10

[4] 2 Peter 3:9

St. Pete's on Repeat RSS

Saints in Waiting

Revelation 7:9-17

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Saints in Waiting

In November of 1940, the city of Coventry in England was bombed by the Nazis. The town was destroyed, and the centuries-old cathedral was reduced to rubble. In the aftermath of the war, the congregation made an interesting decision. They left the ruins of their cathedral in place and then built their new church right next to it.

When they built the new cathedral, they installed a huge glass wall facing the ruins. Etched into the glass are large figures, four feet wide and ten feet tall – images of saints and angels rejoicing in heaven. It’s a beautiful design decision, because as you look through the glass, you see the remains of the bombed-out church, but through the glass that is etched with images of saints and angels. You cannot see the rubble except through the lens of the promise of heaven.

The Coventry Cathedral is a fitting picture for life on earth, isn’t it? There are lots of reminders of former traumas that still haunt us, but that’s exactly why God gave this revelation to John. It was God’s (much better) way to build a wall of glass windows for us to look through, so that you can view the world you live in through the lens of God’s gracious promise of heaven.

This is how John’s revelation began in Chapter 7:

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.[1]

It’s almost the same picture as the Coventry Cathedral, isn’t it? God showed John saints and angels rejoicing in heaven. This great multitude that no one could count were the saints. And although John doesn’t use that word here, it becomes clear exactly who they are by God’s own definition later:

“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”[2]

If I may, I’d like to take exception to the translation of this text. In the Greek, it’s not they who have come out; it’s they who are coming out. In other words, these are not survivors of one specific, massive tragedy. These are Christians of every age who have ever suffered anything.

And Christians suffer, don’t we? We live under the curse of Eden – pain in childbirth and painful toil just to feed our families. We suffer pain and loss in life. We have to bury our parents and go in for emergency surgery. We see the signs of the end times all around us: wars and rumours of wars (in Ukraine and the Middle East), natural disasters (flooding in Libya and Morocco), hatred and lack of love (goodness, you barely have to turn on any device to hear about that; if you even have to turn on a device to experience it firsthand). We are in the era of the great tribulation that John referenced in his revelation right now.

But here’s the good news: These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation. There is relief on the horizon. There is rescue and consolation. There is hope for this great multitude – and for you and me – and it doesn’t come from a piece of legislation or an act of solidarity for a nation at war; it doesn’t come from reversing course on global emissions or becoming carbon neutral; it doesn’t come from learning how to love someone for who they are (or who think they are). God says:

“These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”[3]

The white robes and palm branches are signs of victory – but not a victory that this great multitude won for itself. They did not go through life keeping their clothes (let alone their thoughts and hands and records) clean to the end. No, every one of them was dirty, and so are all of us.

We may be tempted to believe that we are better than other people because we are here. We may be tempted to believe that our own goodness – if only our commitment to coming to church and reading the Bible – plays some small part in our salvation. But the saints in heaven know the truth:

“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”[4]

No saint is perfect. Saints are not Christian superheroes. This great multitude in white robes around the throne is not a collection of humanity’s greatest humans.

“They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”[5]

Every one of the saints John sees is a sinner, just like you and me. Not a single one earned his spot in heaven, and neither do we. Each of them is there because of what the Lamb did. You know who that Lamb is, don’t you? It’s Jesus. In fact, that’s one of the first things that anyone on earth ever called Jesus other than his name. Even before he started traveling the countryside preaching and teaching in every town and village between Nazareth and Jerusalem, John looked at him and said:

“Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”[6]

Jesus is the Lamb of God, the lamb of sacrifice, the lamb of salvation. In the Old Testament, God commanded that the people only sacrifice lambs without blemish or defect, but spotless and blameless. That was Jesus. He was the only person in human history who was able to keep his clothes (and his thoughts and hands and record) clean throughout his entire life. So that when he went to the cross and poured out his blood, it was precious and pure and able to forgive your blemishes and defects, or, as John says here, to make your robes white in the blood of the Lamb.

That’s what Jesus did for you 2,000 years ago. He secured your salvation. He made it possible for you to go to heaven. More than that, he promised that you and I – everyone who believes in him – will be part of this great multitude that no one could count.

Imagine that. With eyes that could miraculously look forward into the future, it is entirely possible that John saw your face in this crowd. John saw you wearing white robes and holding palm branches and singing and serving God in heaven. He saw you and all those believers you have loved but lost too, e.g. your Christian parents and grandparents, your beloved spouse or child who preceded you in death. Everyone who put their faith in the Lamb will be clothed in robes made white by his blood.

And the life God will give us there will undo any and all of your suffering.

“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.”[7]

You won’t even have to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” All your needs will be met. You won’t have to worry about anything. You won’t have to provide or procure anything. You won’t have to put in a 40-hour week or make a last minute trip to the grocery store. You won’t have to clip coupons or stretch meals. All your needs will be met by the Lamb.

“The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.”[8]

No more sweat on your brow. No more painful toil. No more adverse weather conditions. But perfect peace and pleasantness in green pastures forever.

“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.”[9]

Psalm 23 will be real life, for the Lord is your shepherd and you will lack nothing under his care. You will be Jesus’ little lamb, ever glad at heart. Your shepherd will gently guide. He knows your needs and well provides you. Loves you every day the same. Even calls you by your name.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[10]

Coventry Cathedral is a beautiful picture of saints in waiting. We live in the vale of tears. There are so many reasons for us to be sad and hurt and discouraged and lonely and afraid. But every anxiety will be calmed by Christ. Every hurt will be healed by his hand. And he will wipe every tear from your eyes forever.

We are saints in waiting. We live in a bombed-out, sin-ravaged world, but we are privileged to see every day of this life through the lens of God’s promise of heaven. It is already ours; we’re just not there yet. So, as you deal with the fallout and try to clean up the rubble left behind by sin in this life, remember that it won’t always be this way, but that salvation belongs to our God, and to the Lamb, and because he loves you, you will wear white robes and stand before his throne and sing and serve him forever in heaven with all the saints in glory everlasting. Amen.

Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.[11]

[1] Revelation 7:9

[2] Revelation 7:14

[3] Revelation 7:14

[4] Revelation 7:10

[5] Revelation 7:14

[6] John 1:29

[7] Revelation 7:16

[8] Revelation 7:16

[9] Revelation 7:17

[10] Revelation 7:17

[11] Revelation 7:12

St. Pete's on Repeat RSS