Are you willing that any should perish?

God is not willing that any should perish. But sometimes I am.

Sometimes I let my focus drift to me and what I want, and I choose not to think about the men and women in 3,000 people groups without access to saving faith in Jesus. Sometimes I rationalize that as long as I’m involved in the "making disciples" part of God’s command, it’s OK to put aside the "of all nations" part. Surely somebody else can do that.

But that’s just me, right?

Unfortunately, no. The missionary team from churches in the USA is shrinking and aging. Of all the money donated in the name of God, the amount that goes toward reaching those who have not heard has declined to 2 percent today.

Estimates vary and trends can change, and I’m not that good at math, but working through those estimates and trends scares me. It seems like in 20 years the entire team could consist of me and one other really old guy, and we might be trying to make ends meet and carry out ministry one donor – you, perhaps?

But that’s what makes the rest of 2 Peter 3:9 so interesting: "God is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

What promise? The promise of Christs’ return in glory. It’s coming. It is, as the theologians would say, imminent, or as I would, any time now. In the meantime, God is being patient with you and me.

If God is being patient, it’s because He loves us enough to give us opportunities to act, to take part in the work He is doing.

In His love for us, God gave his Son so all could be saved. In response to His love, Julie and I have given our lives to His cause of making disciples of all nations.

How are you responding to His love?