AP

2 Peter 1:12-15  So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.  I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.  And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

The ‘these things’ the Apostle Peter wants his readers to remember are the aspects of their spiritual growth and development (their ‘sanctification’) he has listed in verses 5-7: “faith, goodness, knowledge, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection. and [self-sacrificing, agape] love”.

He has has a very timely message here for all of us, but especially for those of us who are at the stage of our earthly pilgrimage where, as we ‘nightly pitch our moving tent a day’s march nearer home’ before we are ‘forever with the Lord’ (James Montgomery) it is more and more obvious to us that the ‘moving tent’ is fast coming to its ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date!

If you are like me when you read these verses, you will be asking yourself: “How have I invested the time-span the Lord has allocated to me in the lives of those who follow me?”  Will they be ‘firmly established in the truth they now have’?  Have I taken every opportunity, by my words and example, to ‘refresh their memory’ so that they ‘will always be able to remember these things’?

I am so grateful to Sunday School teachers, Youth Group leaders, Pastors, and fellow-believers who faithfully over the years have contributed this legacy to my own spiritual development, not only with their encouraging words and godly life example, but through their prayers, since I am a slow and forgetful learner who needs ‘always reminding’.  (I am especially grateful to my dear wife who was faithful in all these ways for me for over 64 years before she left ‘the tent of her body’ and went to be with her Lord and Saviour, as I reflect on the wonderful legacy she has left to me and our children and grandchildren.)

Peter’s fellow-Apostle, Paul, often wrote about how much he prayed for those who came after him, and I am reminded of Samuel’s comment: “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.  And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” (1 Samuel 12:23)  Although Peter doesn’t mention it, I am sure he also made intercessory prayer a significant part of his legacy before the ‘tent of his body’ was finally destroyed in martyrdom!

– Bruce Christian