2 Peter 1 - Growing in Christ - Eternity Mindset
A key takeaway in this first chapter of Second Peter is that we are to remind each other to have an eternal perspective. Okay, so this seems elementary, but we do have to know Scripture and we have to grow in Christ. As we learn and gain understanding, we, like Peter after his personal experience with Jesus on the mountain, are to have an “even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets” (1:19). So, do we? Is our confidence in God’s overarching message of victory and salvation growing? I think so, and I hope so.
You’ll recall the famous prophecy in Daniel (about 575 years before the birth of Christ) creatively given to the ancient King of Babylon. The prophecy shook the King to his core as it came to him in a dream. It was an odd dream, a frightening dream.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon at the time had it all. All power and great success. Like a combination of Bezos and Musk with political power. I suspect it was hard to shake a guy with that much power. But God rattled him. In fact, at the end of the story, the King bows down to Daniel in fear and reverence. Crazy story.
Back to the story. The dream did shake Nebuchadnezzar. So much so that he went to extremes to have it interpreted. In Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he saw standing before him a shining statue of a man. A terrible frightening sight (a nightmare). You know the story. Head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet - an odd impossible composite of iron and clay. Then a rock is cut from a mountain (not by any human). The rock smashes into the statue of the man and crushes it. Then the pieces of the statue were blown away by the wind, without a trace, and long forgotten. But not the rock. The rock remained. In fact, the rock became greater than the man-statue ever could have been - it became a great mountain that covered the whole earth (Daniel 2).
Okay, so what? Well, so what is that all prophecy is to teach us and refine us and give us insight into how to follow God. As Peter is saying we are to hear the Old Testament prophecy and gain confidence in God and His Kingdom. Despite whatever you are going through today, trust God. He is for you.
Like Nebuchadnezzar, God wants us to know the truth. In fact, God wants all people to know the truth and to come into a relationship with Him. He loves us that much.
We are to ponder this great rock. The Big Rock, if you will. This passage was written (humanly speaking) by the apostle nicknamed by Jesus as The Rock. Yet Peter knew who the true Cornerstone was and is, the Foundation Stone, Jesus Christ. You see, we read in Daniel 2 that God is predicting the future, using humble servants (Daniel and his fellow exiles) and a humbled King. God explains to them (and the mystery is further revealed to us) that during the time of the "those kings" (meaning the four world empires including many kings all before Jesus establishing his Kingdom) (as shown in that famous dream statue) it was God Himself that is setting up His Kingdom (Daniel 2:44). It’s been done. God has set up his Kingdom. The King is Jesus Christ. He very much reigns today from heaven. God's Kingdom will never be destroyed or conquered. It is eternal.
As Peter tells us to grow he also tells us to gain confidence in God’s eternal Kingdom. Let’s do that today as we read, pray, and think of God’s ways. We see that in Daniel all hope was lost, but yet God was just getting started. The whole nation of Israel, the great harlot, had turned its back on God. Yet faithful young men decided to live for God no matter the cost. They were prepared. They worked hard to train and to represent God well. Not in some Christian bubble, but they were prepared to serve God in the most secular of places, the court of the King.
When Daniel’s challenge came he was ready. He was in fact well prepared. He knows that God himself gives wisdom, strength, and knowledge. But He, like Peter instructs us today, requires us to work hard and to grow in godly understanding. Daniel and his friends did that. They knew that God is capable of anything and that God loves to reveal His ways and His truth to those who seek after Him. And Daniel knew that only God could reveal the secrets of the unseen world and answer the mysterious and hidden things.
There is a biblical principle that God explains to King David (some 1,000 years before Jesus, see Psalm 37:10) and then shows to Daniel (2:35). It is this: the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will prevail. That’s just as true today as God continues to Reign from heaven and as He brings more and more of His prized possessions (people) to believe in Him.
Our mindset is that of growth and eternal perspective. Like Daniel, we must be hard workers. Let’s always be prepared. Work hard to be strong in Jesus. And be assertive today. Take action and go to the source of the problem. Be deliberate. Research, analyze, and use all of the resources that God gives you to figure out what the challenges are and how best to respond. That almost always takes time. So don’t be in a rush. Petition God. Let’s ask God for His daily grace, wisdom, and insight. I trust God today to give us wisdom.
And praise God. When we receive insight from God let’s not pretend it is ours. Never steal glory from God. All we have is from the Almighty. As Peter says, we “must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (1:20-21).
Thank you, Jesus. We know you are building your Kingdom today, one rock at a time. Help us to gladly do our part to make disciples today. Amen.
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