In Western civilization, children quickly learn the importance of marking the day of one’s birth. Eventually, they will learn the meaning of the various increments by which time is measured. But, in the early years, weeks and months might as well be geological ages. Because a single day seems to pass as slowly as a glacier, a child turns to the closest and most trusted source of knowledge, asking, “Mommy, is today my birthday?” The answer brings disappointment. But, reassured that the day has not slipped by without notice, the child moves on to the challenges of a new day only to return to the same question with increasing regularity as the actual day draws near.
The comparison is striking. As children of God looking for the day of Christ’s return, we can grow weary of waiting. The Scripture encourages us to “be patient…until the coming of the Lord” (Jas. 5:7). Some use delay as a basis for scoffing and ridicule. They mock us, saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Pet. 3:4). We don’t know the answer nor will we ever know the answer (Mt. 24:36). But, we do know the reason we must wait: “The Lord is…patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). God’s measure of time is unlike ours. Peter reminds us that, “with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). The everlasting God, who knows the end from the beginning, moves in accordance with His infinite knowledge to bring about the end of all things in perfect timing with His divine will.
“Is this the day?” We simply do not know. We are not privy to that information. But, it is a question we should be asking more and more as the day draws near (Rm 13:11). Eager anticipation of Christ’s return should motivate godly living (2 Pet. 3:10-13). Early Christians at Thessalonica were so enamored with the thought of Christ’s second coming that they shut everything down and waited with eager anticipation. Paul had to write a second letter to correct their misunderstanding. He reminded them that there were several things that needed to take place before the Lord’s return and that, in the meantime, they needed to keep on working for the Lord. Will the Lord come today? We do not know the answer to that question. But, what we do know is that “This is the day which the Lord has made” and we should “rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24).
–Glen Elliott–