To Encourage You

2 Peter 3:11 “. . . what sort of people ought you to be . . .?”

1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

Psalm 145:8 “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

The Bible makes it very clear to us that this world will soon pass away.  Not only that, it tells us that our lives are but “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14).  It tells us that “all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls” (1 Peter 1:24).  So, with everything being so ephemeral, does it really matter how we live? 

Some people look at this fact and have the attitude that they should “relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19).  I’ve had people tell me that we should live every day like it’s our last (for it just might be).  But in saying this, their meaning was that we should live life to the fullest, grab the gusto, play hard, that sort of thing.  But is that how we should view such things?  As the verse above from 1 Peter says, “what sort of people ought we to be?”

In the context, Peter was talking about the fact that one day the very heavens and the earth will be destroyed.  It’s in light of this fact that Peter asks his question.  If we have the attitude of this world, i.e., to relax, eat, drink and be merry, our Lord tells us that our viewpoint is that of a fool (Luke 12:20).  Rather, we are to have our eyes set on eternity as we live in this temporal world.  From cover to cover the Bible urges us to live such a life.  So, the question remains, “what sort of people ought you to be?”  In light of the truth of the Scriptures about time and eternity, how should we then live? 

Well, like everything else in life, we are told to “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2).  This One Who lived, died, and then rose again to live forevermore, has given us His perfect example to follow.  That’s His message to us and it’s the apostles’ message as well, for it’s the lesson that Jesus taught them.  As Paul urges us in the 1 Corinthians 11 above, we are to be an imitator of him as he was an imitator of Christ. 

But in order to do this, we must know what that example was, and the only way to find this out is to read and study it in the pages of the Scriptures.  We are to find out what Jesus is like so we can seek to follow that example.  Obviously, we won’t do this perfectly while we live in these imperfect bodies, but we are to nevertheless strive toward this all the days of our life. 

You see, although the apostle Paul encouraged us to follow his example, he knew that his example was not perfect. Although his aim was to follow the perfect example of Christ, yet he acknowledged that this goal was something that he had “not . . .  already obtained.” He knew that he was not “already perfect.” Nevertheless, he said “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). 

So, what was the example that Jesus laid down for us?  Well again, the one and only place we can find this is in God’s Word.  As one example we need only to look to the verse from Psalm 145 above. This tells us that “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Then we should ask ourselves, does this describe me?  Am I gracious?  In other words, do I show grace, unmerited favor, to those I meet? As Jesus taught, “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:32-35).  And am I slow to anger – or is my temper on a hair trigger?  Am I abounding in love, for that’s how the God that loves you and me loves?  

May God help us to live our life in the light of such things as we live in these temporary bodies in this temporary world, for to live our lives in view of eternity is the example our eternal God has set for us.  And isn’t that the only example that makes any real sense?