But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. (2 Peter 3:8 NLT)

It was during the 1970s when a book called "The Late Great Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsay was popular. We all expected Lord's return in the next forty years. We were mistaken, but we were only half wrong.

We always miss it when we either over or under emphasize a Biblical truth. James 5:8 (NLT) says that "You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord, is near", yet, in the scriptural passage above, a day maybe like a thousand years and vice versa. The Bible often gives seemingly contradictory teaching intended to balance our actions. Leaning too far in one direction or the other on the pendulum of working and waiting can distort Biblical truth

We have all heard the expression; he is so heavenly minded; he is no earthly good — this idiom comes when we exercise waiting at the expense of working. Laboring without any expectation of Christ's imminent return will make us so earthly-minded that we have no heavenly vision. In nature, opposites attract each other. It is also true in the spiritual world. When we work here on earth, it creates a desire to be with him in heaven.

Conversely, when we desire to be with him, it motivates us to work here on earth. They work with each other, not against each other. It is never much fun in a playground if one end of a seesaw is always up or down.

In 2020 let's work and wait so that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]