Still Waiting – December 7, 2020

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. 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 3:8,9

Still Waiting

In the second to last verse of the Bible, Jesus says, “Yes, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). This is his promise to return in great power and glory on the Last Day. But if Jesus says that he is coming soon, why have nearly two thousand years passed since he said it? What’s he waiting for? Today’s Bible passage answers that question by reminding us that Jesus is eternal.

Jesus views time differently than we do. To the Lord, there is little difference between a thousand years and a day because he does not view events in sequence. He sees them all at once. What is long for us is short for him. So it makes perfect sense for Jesus to say, “I am coming soon” and for us to still be waiting two thousand years later.

Think of the little girl who asks for help, and her dad says, “Just a minute!” For her, that minute is an eternity, but for dad, that minute is a second. It’s the same way with Jesus. He says that he is coming soon, yet he appears slow from our perspective.

But that is not slowness; it is patience. Every day that is not the Last Day is a gift of God because it means more time for the Word of God to spread and rescue sinners from eternal damnation. It gives the human race more time to repent.

Repentance is a change of mind that God works in people. When you repent, God changes how you think about sin so that you hate it rather than loving it. When you repent, God changes how you think about how you are saved from your sins so that you trust in Jesus rather than your own goodness.

Why hasn’t Jesus returned yet? What is he waiting for? He is patiently waiting to spread his Word so that many more people believe in him and are saved. What a wonderfully loving Lord!

Prayer:
Eternal Lord, bless the spread of your Word as I wait for your return. Amen.