Daily Reading: 8 December

(from www.christianaid.org.uk)

Finding the time

Something to read

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

- 2 Peter 3:9.

Something to think about

The first Christians expected Jesus to return pretty quickly, perhaps within their lifetimes. Yet two millennia later – as children up and down the country begin to wait excitedly for another Christmas celebration – we are still waiting for Jesus to return. It didn’t take long for early believers to begin to wonder whether all the promises of Scripture could really be trusted; God seemed to take so long about it.

Yesterday we considered our own propensity to forget; today we are reassured that the Lord does not have the same problem! Talk of ‘God’s perfect timing’ can feel frustrating when we are waiting to see justice flow, people flourish, and a world conformed to the goodness of God’s kingdom. It’s right that we should long for Jesus to come back and fix it all!

But Peter suggests that it’s actually us – humanity – who can be slow to do our part. While we rush through busy lives, God is endlessly patient with us, wanting us all to take the chances we have each day to turn injustice around, change greed into generosity, and put the good news into action.

Something to do

Make time today for something you’ve been slow to do: an act of kindness or justice that you’ve just not got around to. If nothing springs to mind, try taking some food around to a neighbour you don’t know, and see what happens!  

Something to pray

Thank you, God of life, for your endless patience with me. Thank you for the years you’ve already given me, and every moment that I still have ahead. Help me to make the most of each day, and to find time for that which brings about justice and peace. Amen. 

Today’s contributor is Rev Claire Jones