Peter writes about the Lord's apparent delay in administering His promised judgment.
The Lord 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. (2 Peter 3:9)
It cost God a great deal in order to provide an answer to the problem of sinful humanity. It cost Him the willing sacrifice of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God would rather you trusted His Son as Saviour than that you faced Him as your final judge in the Highest Court in the universe.
This long-suffering of God was illustrated thousands of years ago in the story of Noah's Flood.(1)
For over one hundred years, Noah preached about a God who was righteous and who would punish sin. Clearly, the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. There was no response in the hearts of the vast majority of people and so eventually the day came when God's judgment fell. The world that then existed was engulfed in a flood.
Some speak disparagingly of the Flood dismissing it as mere myth. This attitude may have been fuelled by ridiculously inaccurate pictures in children's story books. However, it is hard to close your eyes to evidence that points to a worldwide flood, especially as found in the histories of many ancient cultures.(2)
In this event God placed in the social consciousness an awareness of a God who must and will punish sin, even though He is presently holding back His punishment to extend His love through Jesus Christ, His Son
- Genesis 6.1-8.22.
- Morris, John, M., PhD, 'Why Does Nearly Every Culture Have a Tradition of a Global Flood?' Online link. http://www.icr.org/article/why-does-nearly-every-culture-have-tradition-globa/
