“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished”(2 Peter 2:9).
TEXT — 2 Peter 2:4-10
Message
A distinguished servant of God once attended a secondary school where discipline was the hallmark. According to him, a sense of moral rectitude steeped in justice, fairness and equity prevailed among staff and students. Behind it all was a system of reward and punishment that kept everyone in line. The School Principal, an avowed atheist, was the driving force behind all these. His ideology notwithstanding, he had unwittingly been following the exact principle by which God has governed the heavens and the earth from creation until date. It must be noted, however, that God’s actions are ultimately driven by love and not by the produce-or-perish attitude of some earthly leaders.
Our passage emphasises that God renders to everyone their just deserts in due time, be they angels or men. This is both a warning and an encouragement. The wheels of divine justice may turn slowly because God is ever looking out for the earliest signs of repentance in His erring creatures. He is not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance. But where that is lacking, the wheels of God’s justice grind exceedingly fine. The converse is equally true. Those who by grace persist in righteousness become happy recipients of divine grace and approbation in due time.
The proverbial Lady Justice wears a perpetual blindfold to ensure that she discharges her duty impartially and objectively without allowing outside factors, such as politics, wealth or fame, influence her decisions. Even then, the imperfections in human nature have sometimes punched holes in “the blindfold” or made it a trifle too transparent as to pervert the course of justice.
Yet, not so with God. He, the only truly incorruptible Judge, watches over all His creatures. Nothing escapes His gaze; to Him, darkness is as bright as noonday. It matters therefore how you live, what you do and speak in secret or in public places. There is an unseen eye watching you.
Thought for the day
The same sunshine that melts the wax, hardens the clay.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
