Just like most of you, Valerie and I have been trying to stay out of heat as much as we can. We were out in the back yard the other day, trying to water and salvage what was left of some of our garden plants, when we looked at each other and said at the same time, “It’s just too hot for anything to survive out here!”
You know, it got me to thinking about our spiritual survival. While we are all concerned about beating the heat of summer, there is a much greater heat wave coming that we should all give attention to. Peter wrote about this centuries ago in order to stir up our pure minds to the fact that we need to make preparations for where we will spend eternity! The bible says, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt away with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (II Pet. 3:10)
If you think it’s hot now, just imagine that time when physical structures will melt away and everything that we know on earth will be burned up! Think of all the beautiful homes, the sky scrapers downtown, even the beautiful parks and lakes all consumed in the heat of fire! Where would a person run to escape the heat? Can’t you just imagine that there will be some who will try to hang their hopes for survival on science or technology? There will be some that will rely on the government or in their wealth to provide a way of escape in that awesome day. Sadly, there will be no escape for those who have not made their eternal preparation by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s the point of Peter’s writing in this third chapter of his second epistle. He is simply reminding us as Christians that our only hope for surviving the heat of that great day is in Christ.
Now there are those who say that Peter was writing figuratively and that the world as we know it won’t actually burn up. I’m not so sure about that, Peter even says in the latter verses that spiritual truths contain some things that are hard to be understood from a natural perspective. But his point is to remind us all of the certainty of the Lord’s return. He reminds us that God wants everyone to be prepared for this coming day and to take advantage of His long suffering by obeying His plan of salvation.
Now I am sure that the summer heat wave that we’re currently experiencing will let up shortly and the milder temperatures of fall will soon be here. But if you’re not prepared for eternity, I urge you to consider that the great day of the Lord WILL come, how will you survive the heat?
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