Someone has correctly written, “Hell is God’s
justice;
heaven is his love; earth, his longsuffering.” God is
patiently waiting in His
longsuffering while we live upon this earth. Peter affirmed,
“The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 emphasis added). Have you ever
considered the
longsuffering of the God we serve? God’s patience is seen in
His seeming delay
of the pending judgment and wrath to come. Why is God longsuffering and
patient
in His judgment?
In the first place, God is longsuffering to give all
a chance to repent of his or her Old Life. God desires for
all to come to repentance;
that is His hope and desire for mankind (1 Timothy 2:4)! The
Lord’s delay in
returning is not a permit to enjoy our sins for a longer season, but
rather it
is an extended opportunity to get sin and worldliness out of our lives!
It is
God’s goodness that should lead us all to rid ourselves of
sinful conduct
(Romans 2:4). Everyday that we are able
to be on this side of God’s wrath and judgment should be
another day to cleanse
ourselves of sin and spiritual impurities. As the song we
often sing with
our children says, “He’s still working on me, to
make me what I ought to be.” Continual
repentance brings us closer to being Christ-like, and that should be
each
Christian’s goal (cf. Philippians
2:5).
In the second place, God is longsuffering to give
all a chance to retell the Old Story. God is patiently
waiting for men to
be saved, but how will they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:13-17).
Each
and every Christian is a re-teller of
the Old Story. Each one who
has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb has the responsibility to
tell
others what to do in order to be saved (Mark 16:15-16). Have you ever
considered that God may be waiting and withholding His wrath until you
take
the notion to speak to another about salvation? Every
day the world still stands is a day that must be used
evangelistically. When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth,
he used an expression that ought to
suggest the most horrifying thing imaginable. He wrote, “We
then, as workers
together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God
in vain”
(2 Corinthians 6:1). Do we receive the grace of God in vain?
God’s grace is
received in vain if we hide it and fail to tell others of the unmerited
favor
of our longsuffering God.
Truly, we are blessed to serve a God who is concerned
with His creation. He desires all to be saved. He is longsuffering so
that all
have the chance to repent of one’s old life, and so that all
have a chance to
retell the old Story. Brethren, let’s busy ourselves
retelling that salvation
story and repenting of those sinful ways so that when the longsuffering
of God
runs out we will be prepared to enter
heaven!
