“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-10, NIV).
Isn’t it wonderful how God has saved us from our sin, ourselves and from Satan? What a privilege and an honor it is to have been brought into the kingdom of God. Because of this we should, as a new creation, have a new attitude about everything. Having been saved we should be panting at every opportunity to do good. Sometimes that is not the case, however. There is the temptation to either “ride things out” or even “turn back” to our earlier sinful habits that lead to destruction for the here and now, and eternal death later.
We have so great and precious promises in Christ that we should constantly be focusing on Jesus. And focusing on how we can, as a new creation, continue what should be an exciting journey of faith and discovery in Christ. The world claims that in Christ we have less to opportunities “to do” in life. Scripture says we have more, much more, in the way of opportunities to do in life. We get to “add” faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. The spiritually disciplined mind knows these are wonder-filled challenges for his or her life. Living such has the promise of a “productive life,” a “satisfied life” verses the world’s empty promises. And if we have these things in “increasing measure” over our life-time, certainly we will have discovered that it is we who have lived “the abundant life!”
Living big in Jesus,
Keith C. Brown