By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley
When I was in high school, my grandma became very sick. I didn’t know what to do, so I tried to shove my emotions into a corner and ignore them. As you
can probably guess, this didn’t work. I started crying out of the blue one day in class, and my teacher pulled me into the hallway. I found myself pouring out my problem to her. She put a hand on my shoulder and said, “God’s got you, Mary. He’s holding you, and he’s holding your grandma, and he’s got this under control.” It was the first time in months that my situation hadn’t felt hopeless, and it was all because of my teacher.
In this passage of 2nd Peter, Peter is describing the end of the world. It’s all sounding pretty scary, but full of hope for those who are diligent, spotless, and at peace. We’re good then, right? We have the Holy Spirit, so we’re cleansed of our sins. We’re safe. But there are others apart from us. The Lord doesn’t wish for any to perish, “but that all should reach repentance” (verse 9). But he also says that he will come like a thief in the night, so if you’re not prepared, that’s it. You’re done.
We are safe, but not everyone will be. Peter tells us to live in holiness and godliness. This is partly for us, it’s true – partly so that we are prepared when the time comes. But I think it’s more than that. It’s also for the others. We are to be role models, using our gift of the Holy Spirit to prepare others for that time. We can be like my high school teacher. She used her vocation to comfort me using the Gospel. We can do that, too. We can go where God has placed us and live in holiness and godliness there, always proclaiming Jesus with our words and our actions. How can you be a role model today?