“Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you.”
as long as I am in this tent
Peter is intensely personal in this section of Second Peter because he uses the personal pronouns “I” and “me” many times. He alludes to his imminent death. Jesus told Peter in advance about his coming death (Jn 21:18-19). Peter lived for many years knowing he would not die a natural death.
“Tent” refers to Peter’s body. It conveys the idea of a transient pilgrimage in our earthly body. He is about to leave his earthly pilgrimage and go to his permanent home in heaven. Peter was ready to die and go to Glory. Absence from the body, the “tent,” is a description of Christian death.
We are not our bodies. We are more than our bodies. Non-Christians think that when they die, they are just plopped into the grave, and that is their end. People place them into the casket, where there is nothing but a blackout. They think that people place both body and soul there. However, Christian teaching is that you are your soul and have a body. Your body is where your soul lives.
to stir you up
The idea of “stir” is to awake, excite, arouse, and animate. Peter was in the business of prompting people to the right principle. Peter wanted to activate their minds. He proposed activating their minds by reminding them of things they were previously taught. Peter aroused their minds by reminding them of the truth of God’s Word.
by reminding you
“Reminding” means to remind with authority. When we communicate truth, we inculcate authoritative principles for life. Peter is in the course of explaining his approach to death. He now gives them his perspective on death. The repetition of authoritative principles is crucial to leadership.
PRINCIPLE:
Good leadership rouses people to spiritual realities.
APPLICATION:
Peter was in the business of stirring people towards spirituality. “I will move you into a body of information crucial to your Christianity.” Peter was in the process of awaking or rousing the Christians of his day. He sounded an alert and blasted a warning trumpet to raise people out of their lethargy.
That is the idea of “revival.” We do not revive something dead. We wake the living. Non-Christians cannot be revived; we can only revive Christians. Revival is a movement of the Holy Spirit within the hearts of God’s people.
