While You Wait

“And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.”
2 Peter 3:14 NLT

As I was studying this verse at the end of the book of 2 Peter, the phrase “while you are waiting” kept running through my head. So much can happen “while we wait.” We are coming up on Christmas; as a child I remember the great anticipation of Christmas morning and the gifts. In our home, Christmas Eve was as big an event as Christmas Day. All of our family would gather and play games, eat a large meal and have special treats, then on Christmas morning we would have a huge breakfast after dad got back from milking cows and doing chores. Then we would read the Christmas story from Matthew or Luke, then we could open presents. As a young boy those events leading up to the gifts seemed to take forever. But now, looking back, my best memories are the events that happened “while I was waiting” for the gifts. You see, the time waiting was filled with joy, friendship, laughter, fun, family and Jesus. The time waiting was more important than I realized as a child.
Peter is telling us, don’t waste the “while you are waiting” time. This is so easy to do. We can become so caught up in what is to come that we don’t live in the present, missing all of the opportunities before us. All of the events that will happen in your life, from the time you accepted Jesus as the payment for your sin until He takes you home, are important. All of them can be used for his glory and the building of his church. Peter says to spend the waiting time living like Christ, spotless and pure, allowing the peace of his love to rule in our lives. If you do, your life and actions will show others a picture of Christ and the hope found in Him.
Let me finish with one question. How well have you been using the “while you are waiting” time?

-Pastor Tim