2 Peter 1:14 KJV
[14] “knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.”
Peter tells us two things in this verse concerning his own death. The first is that it will not be long before he departs from this life. Peter knew that his life was coming to a close. Here in this verse, he reminds me of the Apostle Paul, who said, “that the time of his departure was at hand.”
We know that sometimes believers are taken out of this world swiftly without warning. Nobody knows the exact moment that they will leave this world. We realize that only the Lord knows the very moment that we are going to depart. However, there are times when God lets his children see that they are about to go home and be with Him. Peter realizes that he doesn’t have much time left. He understands that it won’t be long until he makes the crossing. There is a certain amount of grace that comes into the life of a believer at this time. Grace to say goodbye to family and loved ones. Grace to look into the next life and long for it. Grace to welcome death as it begins to get closer. This kind of grace does not leave the believer with anxiety, but with anticipation. We can see this grace working in Peter’s life in this verse.
The second thing that Peter tells us is that Christ enlightened him about his death. Jesus had revealed to Peter that he would die a martyr’s death. He accepted what Jesus said as His will for his life. He was willing to live as the Lord wanted him to live and die as the Lord wanted him to die. Here we see Peter’s submission to God’s will in his life. He would have been more afraid of being out of the will of God than of death itself. I think the greatest thing that could be said about a child of God is that they died in the center of His will. It is important that we live in the will of God and that we die in the will of God. We must keep our eye on the finish line, knowing that it won’t be long for all of us. Life is like a fleeting shadow. We start out young, and it seems like we have our entire lives ahead of us, but the next moment we look around and the years are gone. We find ourselves expecting and preparing for the end of life. James tells us that life is like a vapor. This means that we are here today and gone tomorrow. If you are saved, then this is not depressing but rather rewarding. We know that it won’t be long until we see the face of the One who loved us and died for us. This gives us great hope and a desire to finish well for His honor and glory.