11 December | Teens
«But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.» 2 Peter 3: 10
Have you ever had to wait for something for a long time? It's like waiting for a friend who's late, isn't it? In today's text, 2 Peter 3:9 to 12, we learn about waiting and also hastening Jesus' return. That sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it? How can we hasten something that is already planned? Why does this text ask us to do so?
Imagine that I invite you to pack chocolates and we arrange to start this activity at your church. You get there, but I'm late. You start to get impatient. You keep checking your watch the whole time; after all, waiting can be very boring. But what if, instead of just waiting, you started packing the chocolates yourself? The time will pass more quickly, and you won't even notice I'm late!
It's like waiting for Jesus to return. If we just watch the time go by, waiting without doing anything, the wait can seem very long and even agonizing. But God has given us a mission: to preach the Gospel throughout the world. When we get involved in this mission, working for God, helping others, sharing His love, time even seems to pass more quickly. And more than that, we are helping to prepare the world for Jesus' return. We're not just waiting, we're hastening His coming!
Take Action
Here's a challenge: tell your friends that Jesus is coming back, but in a creative way! You can draw a comic about it, write a short story or even create a game. Use your imagination to share this news in a way that your friends will “like”!