Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
“A watched pot never boils.” The science behind this aphorism is dubious at best but the wisdom is sound. The thinking behind the phrase is that if you wait for something, time passes slowly unless you busy yourself with something else. Then time will fly. Peter seems to have a similar philosophy as the churches in Asia Minor “wait for these”. What they are waiting for is something that should always be on their mind but while they are waiting, they should be diligent to live a life of godliness and holiness. Jesus is returning but there is work to do, Peter says. Paul also needed to tell the Thessalonians that a watched pot never boils because some of them had ceased working and only waited for the return of Christ. There is obviously something more that is called of us.
That something is the same thing Jesus called his followers to when he was in his earthly ministry. He commanded us to love the Lord and to love our neighbor as ourselves in Matthew 22:37-39. He also commissioned us to make disciples of all nations in Matthew 28:18-20. We are to be found without spot or blemish as we wait for him. That can only be done if we cling to him. Each day, we are waiting for Jesus, watching for Jesus, and working for Jesus, living for him as he lives in us. Today, let us get up for work so that the waiting goes quickly. As we pray “Lord come quickly”, let us work toward the day when he returns…
For the quick and the dead.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church