2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
We are sometimes limited in our thinking by human observations. Mankind needed some system for marking time, so he devised one based on the observations of astronomy. A human day is the length of time it takes for the earth to revolve 360 degrees, for instance. The imperfections of such a system really show up in the differences between calendars from culture to culture. The Jewish calendar is based on one year being 360 days, and the calendar we use, gives a year 365 days, except in a leap year which has 366. Things really get complicated when Einstein’s theory of relativity gets added to the picture or when we measure stars which are so far away that the distance is measured in something called light-years. Please don’t think that I am casting dispersions on the systems for telling time that are so much a part of our lives. If anything, I have been accused of being too occupied with time, because I like to begin classes I teach at the time promised. Some unfaithful people are foolish enough to measure time based on astrology, another form of the adversary’s evil. These are the people who look to their horoscopes to make a decision as to whether they should do something. In other words, I am saying that human time systems are, at best, an imperfect attempt to deal with the passage of time.
Today’s passage, 2 PET 3: 8-9, gives us insight on the alternative to human systems for measuring time, God’s system. “But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between one day and a thousand years; to Him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” I think it needs to be said at the outset that this doesn’t mean God is willing to wait indefinitely for a person to repent and be faithful. If He did that, He wouldn’t demonstrate his righteous indignation toward people who make a lifestyle out of sin. Instead, this is a matter of degree. Our human life spans, which average somewhere between seventy and eighty years, are a tiny part of God’s time. Because we are often so ego-centric, we don’t realize that. When we allow that ego-centric nature to dominate our thinking, it parts company from God’s.
Let me share with you some excerpts from PS 90 which illuminate this concept of God’s time and our place in it. It was written by Moses to teach us to number our days. PS 90: 1-6, “O Lord, You have always been our Home. Before You created the hills or brought the world into being, You were eternally God, and will be God forever. You tell man to return to what he was; You change Him back to dust. A thousand years to You are like one day; they are like yesterday, already gone, like a short hour in the night. You carry us away like a flood; we last no longer than a dream. We are like weeds that sprout in the morning, that grow and burst into bloom, then dry up and die in the evening.” How humbling that is! When we are read these words and are humbled by them, we become teachable in God’s eyes. Moses’ plea in PS 90: 12 could just as well be a part of the book of Proverbs, “Teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise.”
Les Feldick, who is my idea of a mighty competent Bible teacher, got me interested in looking at the concept of God’s time as it applied to Daniel’s vision of the seventy weeks. There is nothing accidental about God’s plan for us or imperfect about His knowledge of us. LK 12: 7 tells us “Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!” I encourage you to reread the devotions that I wrote on DN 9: 24-27 and won’t repeat all of that here. However, it is actually possible to reach toward a better understanding (although not a perfect one) of God’s time when look at those verses and see the crucial revelations God has for us in them. He knows which things we need to be able to place an exact date on and which ones we should not. It is His sovereign decision (which is always in our best interests) what should be revealed to us. Christ makes it clear that we are not to know the exact time He will come for us in MT 24: 36, but we are to understand the urgency of getting our spiritual houses in order. Just as PS 90 above teaches us that our life spans are but a flick of an eye lash in God’s time, we also need to understand the important lesson of MT 24: 35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
God gradually reveals His teachings to us, as we become ready for them (in His opinion). I hope to write some devotions about that in the future. When we stretch toward God’s perspective on time, we can see that there is no reason to think that the Lord is slow to do what He has promised. The time that we await the fulfillment of some of His promises is a demonstration of His utter patience in giving us the time we need to go through the process of sanctification, that process by which believers are perfected in preparation to be called to a joyous meeting in the air at the sound of the last trumpet (shofar) [1 THESS 4: 16-17]. The love that God has for His children shines like a bright beacon in 2 PET 3: 9b, “Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” It is my prayer that the blessing of that beacon falls on you, warms your heart, and reflects from the way you lead your life.
PRAYER: O Lord, when we were Your enemies, we were separated from You by our sin. Because You sacrificed Your Son on the cross and called us to faith, we are given the opportunity to become Your friends,reaching beyond the limitations of our human perception closer to Yours. That is such a blessing. You inspire writers like Moses, Paul, and Peter to teach us that Your time is different than and more accurate than ours could ever be. In Your infinite wisdom and sovereignty, You alone know what to reveal to us and when to reveal it. When we recognize the imperfection of human time measuring systems and accept that Your system is better, we can better understand truths You give us which are vital to our sanctification and getting Your work done. As undeserving as we are, You choose to love us in ways mere words cannot describe. Your righteousness is revealed in that love, just as it is in Your decision to punish those who make sinfulness a lifestyle. We are encouraged by knowing that You don’t want anyone to be destroyed and by your willingness to be patient with us as we strive to work through the challenges before us. We offer You our thanks, praise, adoration, worship, honor, glory, trust, and obedience. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the part of Peter’s message on the promise of the Lord’s coming which deals with the Day of the Lord to come and the events associated with it from 2 PET 3: 10-13. The Lord’s words and His love are that bright beacon of light that pierces the darkness of sin, fright, pain, and sorrow in our lives. When we open ourselves to letting it shine in our lives, we can take sheer joy in sharing the encouragement it brings for each other. Our Lord loves us every day of our lives and is rooting for us to one day be ready to sit at His table to celebrate the wedding feast of the Lamb. My husband, Peter, and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You,
Lynn