Dear Fellow Christians ~ Are You Ready to Meet Jesus

[Ramez5]

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 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. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. 2 Peter 3:11-14

Are you surprised that this post is addressed to Christians? So am I! I've been reading 2 Peter for the last couple of weeks or more and this 3rd chapter sure got my attention. I knew that non-Christians had every reason to fear the Lord's return but Christians shouldn't have any.

The key words here are

1. beloved - ἀγαπητός, (ῆ, (ἀγαπάω), beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite
2. seeing- prosdokaó: to await, expect
3. make every effort ~ spoudazó: to make haste, hence to give diligence
4. spotless ~ aspilos: spotless, unstained
5. blameless - ἀμώμητος that cannot be censured
6. at peace ~ eiréné: one, peace, quietness, rest

I think anyone could grasp the importance of our proper response to the reality that Jesus will one day return to judge both Christians and non-Christians though of course in a very different manner. We are after all 'the beloved' of Christ and that should give us real joy and comfort! But it shouldn't make us careless in our daily walk. According to Peter, we ought to be so diligent in our pursuit of the character qualities mentioned in chapter 1 that we are filled with peace at the thought of Christ's return.

In this small book of the bible, Peter, the leader of the church at that time, is writing his 'good-bye' letter to all the believers of that day. The topics of these three chapters cover the things he's most concerned about as regards his beloved fellow Christians--so they are very important for us too.

It didn't hit me just how important this book really was until I had also finished up reading Revelation. I'm doing two tracks--reading verse by verse in Peter and book by book straight through. So the 2 Peter 1-3 happened by God's grace to coincide with my reading of Revelation.

I have to tell you, I was just overwhelmed by the time I finished and am now filled with a healthy dose of the 'fear of God' that has put new impetus behind what I've learned from 2 Peter.

Why did I need a dose of the 'fear of God'? Because frankly, we stay so focused on God's grace that I'm apt to forget His justice.
It's easy to slip into enjoying life as some lazy servants did in the parable of the talents. Our lives are not ours to spend as we please.
Some day, the Lord will return to see how well we've used the precious gift of salvation that He has bestowed on us. His great love for us deserves a proper return.
Matthew Henry ~ Christ keeps no servants to be idle: they have received their all from him, and have nothing they can call their own but sin. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. The day of account comes at last. We must all be reckoned with as to what good we have got to our own souls, and have done to others, by the advantages we have enjoyed. It is not meant that the improving of natural powers can entitle a man to Divine grace. It is the real Christian's liberty and privilege to be employed as his Redeemer's servant, in promoting his glory, and the good of his people: the love of Christ constrains him to live no longer to himself, but to Him that died for him, and rose again. on Matthew 25

Revelation is the 'end of the story'. It's what the whole book--the Bible-- is all about and is also what our whole lives as Christians should be all about. We are on a journey with the Lord and either we will die and go to heaven before the end comes or we won't. Either way, we'll all be there and that should have a tremendous impact on two things:

1. How we live every day and
2. How serious we are about sharing the love of Christ with others.

If this is all just a 'fairy-tale' or a vague analogy, then you can just skip the rest of this post and rest easy. You could do what I did for many years, and simply focus on getting through the day and living a reasonably virtuous life. You might decide to 'coast' and hope the Lord will be 'ok' with your level of performance spiritually speaking and assure yourself that since we are saved by grace, the Lord will overlook your lack of love for Him or your lack of love for others. At one time I was counting on this benevolant style of indulgent grace. Of course, hopefully most Christians are not having the trouble that I was. But the fact that God spent the first seven chapters addressing the church and it's problems, makes me think I'm not alone.

Of course, as a parent I was very concerned to raise my children for the Lord and I've always cared about the lost and tried to share the Lord with others. But the older the kids got and the busier our lives got, the more my purpose on earth as a Christian and servant of the Lord slipped to the back burner of my mind. This world and it's earthly pursuits can get extremely engrossing. If we aren't careful--the end of the story--God's story--will slip to the back-burner too.

Reading Revelation was a shocking wake up call and a glorious reality too! I read this one part where John was describing God's throne.. and picturing it bit by bit... and suddenly BOOM I could see it all in my mind's eye. And since it was true--and going to happen--it woke me up in a hurry!

From Revelation 4:
At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby.
A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.
(This part really got me!) From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.
In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings.
Day and night they never stop saying:

“ ‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever.
They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”


Peter seemed to anticipate most peoples' reactions when he wrote...

For we did not follow 'cleverly devised stories' when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 2 Peter 1:16-18

Pictures help us attempt to grasp this depiction of a very real event that will one day occur--but it's really difficult isn't it?

So here's the question. Are you ready? Will you meet the Lord joyfully and with a peaceful heart knowing you've been as faithful as you could with the gifts you've been given--whether great or small?

Peter was very anxious that believers not get careless, get overwhelmed by persecution, or most importantly not get deceived by false teachers into thinking that we are free to live as we like.. under grace. You have to admit that it's a very prevalent thinking in today's churches. Antinomianism or sinning because we are under grace is the scourge of our modern churches.

Peter sums up the whole book with this reminder:

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this (the return of Christ), make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless 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 3:14-18

Dear Lord,

May we be found faithful! Help us to turn our eyes and our hearts towards You. May we pursue You and your kingdom first each day and so abide in fruitfulness and holiness till you return. May we be filled with joyful anticipation of that momentous day! Give us a heart for the lost and help us live lives of genuine moral and spiritual excellence and so bring glory to your Name. May our joyful and God-honoring lives cause people everywhere to hunger to know You--the source of our joy and strength and our hope for eternal security.

In Your Precious Name we pray, Amen.