Read 2 Peter 3:9

There’s a specific strategy to getting a toddler to go anywhere. If you are ever at Grace Church and see our family in the halls, it’s quite possible you will see us in the “Bait” formation. This is when Kelly leads the way with Mattie in the middle and me behind Mattie. You see, Mattie is SUCH a mommy’s boy in that, if Kelly goes anywhere, Mattie is usually not far behind. In the “Bait” formation, Kelly motivates Mattie to move and I make sure he gets there by guiding him in the right direction, reminding him that we’re following Mommy.

Getting a toddler to do anything takes a lot of patience. There are some times when my patience has been tested that my mind drifts to the patience which God has with us. Even worse than a toddler taking his SWEET OLD TIME getting from point A to point B, we must be terrible to keep an eye on. For all that God has done for us by saving us from eternal damnation in Hell by sending His only Son to die a gruesome death while having the wrath of God dished out upon Him, we repay Him with, I’m sure, headaches and eye rolls.

None of us are perfect but God’s patience is.

A great example of God’s patience comes in the book of Jonah. This is a story where God reaches out to a prophet named Jonah, telling him to go to a super pagan city and share the gospel with them. Jonah isn’t too thrilled to go on this excursion and we read about his adventure of running away from God.

Should be fun.

Our reading today in 2 Peter describes the patience which God shows in wanting no one to breathe their last breath while apart from Him. Peter writes that, what we think is slow, isn’t slow to God. He has a plan of redemption that has been in motion since Genesis 3.

Over the next 4 days, we will read about God’s plan for the people of Nineveh and Jonah’s journey of running from God to being an integral part of the salvation of a city far from God.

Jake Lawson