2 Peter 3:8-14 - by Don Neuendorf
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
We love to ask children "what they want to be" when they grow up. It's a funny question, don't you think? What they want to BE? I mean, we could ask them what kind of job they hope to get - what kind of work they want to do - how much money they want to make - where they hope to live - or how they want to spend their time - but instead we ask them what they will BE.
Who can answer that? Compare it to this...
Ask a child this question, "What ARE you?"
They won't know how to answer. Or they'll tell you, very sensibly, that they are a little boy or a little girl. And, by extension, when they grow up they will BE a man or a woman. Doesn't take much planning to achieve that. They will be people.
But, Peter asks, what KIND of people? And the expected answer has nothing to do with the categories that matter to us. He's not concerned with their occupation, job titles, income level, or home ownership. What KIND of people is all about their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Will they be "holy" people, people who have been made righteous by Jesus' blood and who are awaiting his coming? Or will they be people in darkness, lost people, who have turned away from their Savior.
I wonder, of all the time we spend preparing children to BE this or that, how much of that time is spent to ensure that they will be Jesus' men and women? "Since everything will be destroyed" and we are aware of how valueless those careers and acquisitions are, then how should we be investing ourselves?