1This is now, beloved, the second letter that I have written to you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by reminding you 2that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts 4and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 5For they willfully forget that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water by the word of God, 6by which means the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished. 7But the heavens that exist now and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat; and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11Therefore, since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, 12looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent to be found in peace, without defect and blameless in his sight. 15Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, 16as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
Live Out Your Identity in Christ
14 Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent to be found in peace, without defect and blameless in his sight. 15 Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
According to the online dictionary, diligence means “Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; constancy in the performance of duty or the conduct of business; persistent exertion of body or mind; industry; assiduity.” Peter tells us that even though it may seem the Lord is tarrying in His return, we should be diligent in being true disciples of Jesus. When going through hardships, I often told my children, “DON’T GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER. KEEP ON KEEPING ON.” Living the Christian life is not easy, and we must continually remind ourselves that diligence is required. Just reading these devotionals requires diligence. It may or may not include reading these writings, but we each must remain vigilant and cognizant that we need fresh input from the Lord in our lives. This is what I call the “mannah principle.” His mercies are indeed new every morning, but we must open our eyes to see them and go out and collect them, and live them.
Of course, we need to surrender sometimes on things we work at. Sometimes, they were just a bad idea. But the general idea of not being a quitter is a good thing in spiritual matters. We must be persistent about accomplishing something. And what are we trying to accomplish? We want God to have His way with us so that we become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. (Romans 12:1-2) As our minds are renewed (seeing things God’s way), we become more and more like him in our holy and godly living. As John the Baptist said, “He must increase, and I must decrease”.
If we have been saved, we are in phase two, which is the part Paul calls “working out our salvation with fear and trembling”. I love how Peter tells them that Paul is sometimes hard to understand, but there is meat in there! Paul’s teachings explain that we don’t work FOR our salvation with fear and trembling, but rather we are working OUT our salvation through fear and trembling. That means living out and growing up in our identity in Christ. Knowing one’s identity is important. My father taught me certain things by telling me, “McMullens do this. Or, McMullens don’t do that.” I just learned to live out what it meant to be a McMullen. Both Peter's and Paul’s teachings remind us continually of our identity in Christ. Be diligent in living that out. That’s who you are. Now, live that way!