2 Peter 3:11-12
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
The idea that the universe is the product of a collision of atoms, and all we are is a collection of complicated rats, does little to promote goodness and virtue because they are then impossible terms to define. In their view, the sun and earth will die, as we will, so why not live to satisfy my own desires? Peter, carried along by the Holy Spirit, wrote of a better worldview and a better way to live. The Day of the Lord was met with fear in the Old Testament but the Day of God that Peter awaited will have a similar fire and dissolution, but Jesus will usher in the new kingdom!
The fatalistic view, prevalent in America today, may be what is behind the despair of some following the presidential election. If this is all there is, then an election takes on supreme importance. May we guard against such a narrow and shortsighted view of the world and tell people the truth. That the day of supreme importance is coming because Jesus, who died for our sins, rose again and ascended, and is returning. There will be fire. There will be terror. But for those that are his, we will await that time in holiness and godliness.
Dear Lord, thank you for the glimpse of the future which fills us with hope. May we live for that day and point others to it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.