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| The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives. |
| —2 Peter 3:10-11 |
“What kind of people ought we to be?” Said another way: “ Exactly what do you expect of us?”
Many years ago, during a training session at the insurance company where I worked, a program from the American Management Association entitled “Supervisory Management - II” posited that, more than anything else, employees want to know exactly what management expects of them. If you think about that concept for a minute, I think you will agree that it makes sense.
Whether one is dealing with an employment situation, or a marriage, or a church, or any other relational gathering of individuals, each person really wants to know exactly what is expected of him or her. It behooves those in charge to always do everything they can to make certain that everyone present in the relationship knows, in detail, what is expected of them.
In the Scripture verses at the beginning of this blog post, the Apostle Peter describes, for the benefit of those receiving his letter, what will happen when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth—an event that we commonly refer to as “The Second Coming.” Peter not only describes how the current heaven and earth will be destroyed to make way for the new heaven and hew earth, he uses this description as a motivator for the Christians to understand exactly what God expects of them in this current age.
Peter’s sage advice applies equally to us. Exactly what does God expect of us? He expects us to live holy and godly lives. So, whenever we look at the circumstances of our lives—the challenges we face, the lack of resources, the abundance of God’s blessings, the fellowship of others who follow Christ, and any number of other events or conditions that mark our lives—our behavior in the face of all this is clear.
God wants us to live our lives in a way that honors Him. He wants us to strive for godly living. Another way of stating that is to say that God wants us to live in a god-like way. If we study the characteristics or attributes of God, we will come up with a list that describes what it means to be god-like.
If God is loving, then we should be loving. If God is kind, then we should be kind. If God hates sin, then we should hate sin, particularly the sin that infects our own lives. If God is patient, then we should be patient.
In fact, the Apostle Paul gives us some keys to understanding god-like-ness in Galatians 5:19-26. As you read these verses, I sincerely believe you will find “everything laid bare”:
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
As we begin another new day, let’s determine to follow the advice of both the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul. Let’s determine to live godly lives, moving always towards holiness, as we seek to become more and more like our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
