By now you know that I have been burglarized. If you are like Critter, you think that I have been sitting around thinking of bulletin articles to write from the lessons learned. That is a distinct possibility.

I have thought of at least a dozen different parallels and lessons. In fact, it’s kind of fun trying to milk this one. (I must not have too much to do.) But the most obvious is the one that I would like to comment on.

The burglary occurred on Thursday. The Wednesday night class the night before involved a study of 2 Peter 3, where we read, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (vs. 10). There is no one who expects to be burglarized today. I heard on the news the other day that there are enough burglaries every minute to measure in the hundreds. It is bound to happen. I don’t know of anyone who has lived very long who hasn’t been burglarized. But no one expects to be burglarized today.

The point in 2 Peter is that the Lord’s coming is like the coming of the thief. God has assured us through his promise that Jesus would come. The writer of Hebrews said, "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment; so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation" (Heb 9:27-28). Nothing is sure in this life, but that someday it must come to an end. Death and taxes, the only two sure things of this life are no more certain than judgment and the return of Christ. But no one expect him to come today.

The portion of 2 Peter that we were studying is a chapter of hope. It is easy to pound the podium and skin the skeptics on the second coming and the fires of destruction and damnation. Indeed, it is a fearful thought – the end of the world, and the destruction of all that is visible and touchable. But the object of Peter as he addresses the hopeful is not to give up on that hope on account of the ridicule of the infidel. He reminds them of the certainty of God’s promise to them first by saying, "For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:5-7).

You’ll notice he says "they willfully forget," not "you willfully forget." There were those who were seeking to sow doubt through ridicule and persecution. But he reminds them to be patient with God as he has been with them, after all, "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (vs. 8).

The Lord keeps his promise. But why does he wait so long? To be honest, I don’t know. There is an old saying that you never look a gift horse in the mouth. When something good happens, when a blessing occurs, don’t cynically question the motives of those who worked to bring it about. Enjoy the gift. Do not doubt God because he has delayed. Rather be thankful that he didn’t send Jesus the day before you obeyed the gospel. "And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" (2 Peter 3:15). If there is anyone who would be saved but hasn’t been, my prayer is that the Lord would delay his coming till the last one be on board. I am sure glad that he waited on me. (Perhaps, he is still waiting on me. Hmmm.)

Peter encourages the brethren to maintain their preparation. He says, "Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness" (vs. 11). It is worth noting that he refers to what "ought ye to be," and not what "ought ye to do" in making this preparation. Preparation for the coming of the Lord begins inside a man, in his heart. It is not enough to merely go through the motions of our religion. Our obedience is a result of our convictions reshaping us into what we ought to be.

Jesus said, "For there is no good tree that bringeth forth corrupt fruit; nor again a corrupt tree that bringeth forth good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh" (Luke 6:43-45). The point Jesus is making is that what we do is product of what we are inside. The Scriptures so often point out that God requires a change of the inner man as well as the outer man. Paul said, "Lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings" (Col 3:9). The "old man" is the mind, the character of the individual. Putting off the old man involves and change of thinking and perspectives. Old affections are exchanged for new (2 Cor. 5:17), and our resolve is to no longer serve with the mind the law of the flesh (Rom. 6:17-18).

Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, "And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Serving God acceptably requires a renewing of the mind. The inner man must change. If one attempts to change his behavior without first changing his heart, he won’t last long as a Christian. He may put on a show for a while, but eventually, it will become to tough to do even that. The inner man must change if I am going to be ready for that day.

Those who are ready are "looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" (2 Peter 3:12). We know now who is ready. It is the one whose inner man is converted to God’s will. But how can such a one look for and earnestly desire the destruction of the earth? For the unbeliever, this is the most horrible day. But the prepared look for it and desire it. Why? "But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13). Peter is taking about the home that we have with God and Jesus in heaven itself. We cannot go there while remaining here. This must be done away with.

There are a lot of things about this world that I love. I love sunsets and star-filled skies. I love the ocean and the mountains. I love the physical relationships I have with others. (Most of them, anyway.) But Jesus has prepared something better for me (John 14:1-3). Wouldn’t it be a shame if I was not ready to receive it when it was offered. That would be the ultimate misfortune.

We do not know when Jesus is coming to get us. We only know that he is coming. We need to be ready for that time. It will come as a thief, and it will come. Let us joyfully prepare.