A seminary professor used to ask his students, “How many of you would like to go to heaven today?” A few raised their hands. But the vast majority hesitated, thinking that heaven would be good some day, but not right now.

Next, the professor would ask, “How many of you would like to live in a world with no pain, no crime, no sickness or death?” Every hand would go up. Then the professor would say, “If that’s the kind of world you want, then heaven is the place you want to be.”

First century Christians would have answered those questions differently. Before Jesus left earth to go back up to heaven, he told his followers he would return for them someday. As the years went by, some of the Christians became discouraged that Jesus had not yet returned as promised. It seemed to them that Jesus was slacking on his promise. In response, St. Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Peter was explaining, God isn’t slow, he’s patient. When Jesus returns to earth in judgment, the world as we know it will come to a cataclysmic end. There will be no second chance. Everyone’s eternal destiny will be fixed. Because God wants people in heaven and not in hell, he keeps stretching history out one more generation at a time. Peter wanted his readers to see this not as a disappointment, but as evidence of how much God cares for us.