Not Wishing That Any Should Perish
Not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (II Peter 3:9)
II Pet. 3:8-15; II Chr. 7:14; Ezek. 18:31; Acts 3:19; II Pet. 1:11-15
What Is God Saying?
This was a time of suffering. Many Christians were paying for their faith with their lives. Christians had to be both warned and encouraged. Peter’s letter was written by one who knew that his own martyrdom was near-"Since I know that the putting off of my body (or tent) will be soon" (1:14). Peter had good reason to come right to the point. Two kinds of enemies assailed the Christians and their faith. First, some had thrown all moral restraints to the wind-"waterless springs and mists driven by a storm" (2:17). They claimed to be free but in fact were enslaved, and they tended to entice others into their deadly trap. "They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption" (2:10).
The scoffers said, "Where is the promise of His coming? It must be a fake, pure myth, wishful thinking." Peter counters the attack by saying, “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (3:8). Think of his delay in the light of his forbearance and love. God does not wish or will that any should perish but that all should reach repentance (3:9). "The day of the Lord will come like a thief,” when you are not expecting it (3:10). The truly repentant and the truly believing are waiting for “a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (3:13).
How Does This Apply To Us?
Our concern, then, should not be, "When will the Lord return?" but "How am I living now? "Count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation" (3:15). God is wishing all will repent. That's his concern. It should be ours. Don't worry about his delay in returning-it is because of his mercy and not because of weakness. Don't be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose “your own stability" (3:17). "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Let us take care of that. God will take care of the rest.
Pray With Me
Loving Father, the country of willfulness and careless neglect is indeed a far country. It is far from you, far from joy, far from your plan for the good life. It is a place for swine and husks. It is a place of irrational hungers and zero nourishment. It is far from what you intended. It is far from what I want and need. So I come back to go ahead. Such is repentance and such is your will. You do not wish that any should perish. You came, in Christ, that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Life is the gift of your loving heart and the purpose of your sovereign will. Such far-reaching love is beyond my understanding. It is deeper than my darkest fears. The repentance I dreaded becomes the gateway to a transforming friendship with my risen Lord.
Since you do not wish that any should perish, you surely are not willing that I should perish. You do not intend that I should continue an endless search for repentance and joy. I will believe in your willingness. I will accept the powerful grace of restoration. I will reach repentance. I will to live, and my will is brought to life by the realization that your will toward me is one of yearning and deathless love.
Through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Repentance should not be the main agenda of our prayers. Gratitude for the amazing grace of God and confidence in his unfailing love are the highest priorities. However, we will never fully experience the grace of God if we have an unrepentant heart. It is good to reach repentance and accept forgiveness. Having done that, we need to reach beyond repentance to the abundance of life that Christ gives. We reach it in prayer and live it out in a life that is fruitful and pleasing to God.
