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How often have you wondered if the hard work of Christ-like living is "worth it" - if it's worth it to practice self-control, to be consistent, to love the unlovely? We are given so many commands in Scripture about how we are to live, but it can be so easy to forget why we are to live that way. For example, in his second epistle, Peter gives us a list of qualities that we are to add to our lives as we mature in Christ:
". . . make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love" (2 Peter 1:5-7).
And so we go about our lives, adding virtue and knowledge and self-control and all the other qualities we are commanded to add. But sometimes it's an uphill battle. Sometimes we get weary of "well-doing." Sometimes we wonder why we are trying so hard to add these things to our lives. We know in our minds that we must do it because it is commanded in Scripture, but yet we wonder in our hearts how it benefits us now. For that, we must keep on reading:
"For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:8-11).
Okay, so if we give due diligence to adding and perfecting these qualities in our lives, then . . . what? At first it seems like his reasoning is negative: we will not be ineffective or unfruitful; we will not be nearsighted and blind; we will not be forgetful. Those are all qualities that we'd like to ignore about ourselves anyway, so we may start to wonder where the positive benefit is in all our hard work. Let's look more closely at his injunction: if we understand what he is truly saying here, then we can understand some of the blessings in the call for diligence.
1. We will be granted effectiveness and fruitfulness. We will not be lukewarm or apathetic toward spiritual things; we will not be stagnant as an algae-covered pool of water that repulses many people; rather, we will be like a tree flourishing and flowering for the benefit of itself and for others.
2. We will be granted intimacy with Christ. Peter tells us that our effectiveness and fruitfulness will be in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ: as in, we will be flourishing in how well we know our Savior. Compare it to a dating or newlywed couple, who are continually striving to know each other better - if they are fruitful in building that knowledge, then they will grow in intimacy with each other. Such it is between us and Christ. The more that we know Him, the closer we will be to Him.
3. We will be granted discernment in spiritual matters: our eyes will be opened to the truths and blessings of Scripture. Peter warns that those who lack these specific qualities in their lives are "so nearsighted that [they are] blind." This nearsightedness is of their own volition; they purposely choose to close their eyes to spiritual things. In contrast, those who put on these qualities will see! We are given spiritual sight as we work to become more like Christ.
4. We will be granted assurance of salvation. Never again should a maturing believer doubt his salvation; Peter's words remind us that doubt ought to have no foothold in a Christian's life. As we mature and grow to become more like Christ, He will assure us continually that we belong to Him and that He has cleansed us and freed us from all of sin's power.
5. We will be granted stability or steadfastness. The admonition is that "if you practice these qualities you will never fall." Of course, we will never be perfect as long as we are on this earth; however, the "never falling" that Peter speaks of refers to a consistency that unbelievers or stagnant Christians do not possess. We will no longer be "like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6), because we will be of the same mind as Christ, or at least growing towards that end.
6. We will be granted an abundant entrance into Heaven. This perhaps is not an immediate reaping of our diligence; however, it gives a hope and an expectation for future blessing. If we strive here on earth to live as our Savior would want, then we will enjoy in Heaven not only His eternal presence but also His pleasure in us! A diligent Christian will hear, upon entering heaven and bowing before the Father's throne, a satisfying "well done, good and faithful servant!" What more could we ask for, than the honor of the Creator bestowed upon the created!
So, as we give all diligence to "supplement our faith," we will be blessed with a fruitful life, intimacy with Christ, spiritual sight, assurance of His forgiveness, stability, and a sure and abundant welcome into His presence for eternity. Truly, we would do well to heed the words of Paul in his epistle to the Galatians:
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). |
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