Our Expectations, Our Reality – II Pet. 3:10-18

Back in 1980, a study known as the Dartmouth Scar Experiment proved how a person's expectations informed his perceived reality. Several studies done afterward yielded the same results. Simply put, people who believe they have some sort of deficiency that would cause others to mistreat them ultimately end up feeling mistreated – even if no genuine mistreatment has taken place.

We all have expectations, right? Those expectations influence how we see the world. They also influence our behavior. As Christians, we should live within the expectation that Jesus could come to get us at any moment. Such expectations would influence what we think, how we live, how we treat other people, etc. Likewise, if we dismiss the 2nd coming of Christ, we approach the world with different expectations. Our lives will reflect that. As Pete closes this letter, he encourages his readers to hold on to the expectations Scripture encourages so that they live in the reality Scripture so clearly reveals.