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The End in Mind
Pat McFall"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." 2 Peter 3:11-12
Peter is reminding his readers of what is coming. He has corrected false teaching and now is asking a challenging question, "How should you be living?" He tells them that even when scoffers come to doubt the coming of God that they remember the words of the prophets and apostles. He encourages them towards 'wholesome' thinking or a 'sincere mind' (ESV). A mind that is pure, that is of unmixed quality, one that is candid and uncompromised. This clear minded thinking is a result of trusting God and believing His words.
Peter is encouraging his readers to live with the end in mind. He places the reality of the destruction of all things in front of them and asks, 'What kind of people should you be in light of this truth?' That is such an important question to ask myself everyday. If I know truths about Jesus that have changed me forever, how should I be living in light of those truths? Should I be more willing to share my faith with the person on the street or the person that I work with at that office? If I was engaged in the reality of my own life's end and the Day of God that is coming what would I be doing differently? How would I be living in order to, as Peter put it, actually speed up its timing? Peter reminds me that my life should be set apart, it should be unique in the midst of the 'common' values of the world. If a common value is extreme individualism and self-centeredness then I must live in a way that values community and my nieghbor above myself. I should be set apart in the sense that my life is wholely different in how it's lived. Godly not in the sense of religious duties but in that it welcomes His presence to a degree that changes me. In such a way that I love better and serve people more willingly and intentionally. Godly, in the sense that it expresses the values of God's kingdom, the words of Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount. Living with the end in mind isn't morbid, its absolutely necessary so that I don't get consumed with the petty anxieties of the present. I need to ask God for sincere and clear thinking and rely on His Holy Spirit for victorious living as time draws me closer to the end of my own life and the day of Jesus' return.
Jesus I repent of mixed thinking, of praying in a way that makes room for doubt about who you are and what you can do. I don't want to live another wasted day. I want to live with a sense of urgency and purpose. Help me to keep my mind clear and my life disciplined. Teach me how to live in a holy and godly way. Let me be so overwhelmed by you that it changes everything I do.
