5 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.
Do you ever wonder, Lord, am I pleasing you? That has been an increasing desire in my heart the past few months. I'm the oldest child and also a self-proclaimed people-pleaser (I really wish this was not my natural bent sometimes). Recently, I've really wondered if I'm pleasing God. I so greatly desire that He might come sit in my living room and let me know how I'm doing and how I could please Him more. I just do better face to face. But, though I believe He could do that if He wanted, history leads me to believe that I probably won't see Him face to face until Heaven...so how do I know if I'm really pleasing Him? It's simple. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says," (James 1:22). Okay, not so simple. There are a lot of commands in the Bible, and we won't get them all perfectly...but are we at least giving every effort to obey and honor what God asks us to do?
We left off yesterday concluding that Jesus has given us everything we need for life and godliness through His Word as we study and emulate Christ. He has given us these great promises in His Word so that we can be more like Christ and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. Whose evil desires? Mine! When we look at the sin around us, we need not be pointing fingers, right? The sin in the world exists because of me! Because of mankind. In order for me to escape it, I need to be following Jesus' promises found in His Word. His plan, written for us as the Bible, is THE WAY to live this life.
"For this very reason,..." Because of this great sin problem we have and all the evil in and around us, here is what we should strive to do as Christ-followers:
"...make every effort" There is a fine balance between the Holy Spirit changing the desires and attitudes within me AND me making the choice to follow those new desires and attitudes. By no means did I mean to let us off the hook yesterday in saying that ALL the power comes from the Holy Spirit. In my example, I told how first I had to desire to have Him change my heart, then He helped to calm my heart, and even today, I still have to go back and recommit to that peace, knowing God will take care of it, lest I get all fired up again over that issue! It's a partnership. We need to make every effort on our part, and that effort includes asking that He would change us, and then He will do the work when we ask. I know, it's a bit complicated.
Now, here comes a list! I love lists! This is a list of virtues that will produce a well-rounded, Christian life. Don't get over-whelmed, it's not a checklist. Think of it more as a list of examples:
"...to add to your faith goodness" Faith is the root of the Christian faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). So start there!
"and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love." As I look at this list, I'm sure the order has a purpose to it, though I can't claim to know what each connection would be. However, I do notice that knowledge comes before self-control in this list. Wouldn't you say that our society has more "knowledge" than it has ever had, and yet we seem to have less "self-control" than we have ever had? Something is flipped! According to this list, knowledge should lead to self-control, not to a justification of what I want to do. Ugh, self-control. Interesting that perseverance follows self-control. Anyone trying to make new habits in this new year? Persevere! (I'm saying this to myself.) Don't give up just as it starts to get difficult! Keep going! I also find it interesting that brotherly kindness comes before love. Brotherly kindness refers to how we treat our fellow believers, our "brothers". Being kind to our fellow believers comes before love...reminding me that sometimes the actions need to happen before the feeling comes!
Okay, but here's my favorite part, because I tend to think that I need to work on these things as a check list. Not so! "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." There is no order mentioned here, but rather, that we would continue to INCREASE in these qualities as a whole. That is how we can be effective as a disciple of Christ! Do you sense that you are MORE of these things than you were last year, or has it pretty much stayed the same? I know that I have had years where I have stayed the same -- they are usually the years that I was most me-focused. But if we see that we are growing in these things, we are growing in our relationship with Christ. That's the proof! And that's what pleases God -- an increase in our godliness (our genuine reverence toward God that governs every aspect of our lives) -- not our good deeds, but our heart's attitude and reverence toward Him, which leads to obedience. According to this verse, these qualities are what keep us effective and productive in our work for Him! They are of utmost importance if we want to make a difference in this world for Christ because they are what set us apart as "different". Actions speak louder than words, right?
"But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." If we don't possess these virtues, we have forgotten who we are and what Christ has done for us. It's never too late to turn back to Him or to make different choices today than we did yesterday!
"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, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." By cultivating these qualities, you bear the fruit of Who lives in you and whom you follow. When we become children of God, we are called to obedience, and these virtues prove their divine source. By continuing to live for Christ, you will never fall.
Go back to that list. Is there one or two that could use a little tweaking? Now is the time to ask God to help us in those areas of our weakness. I know what mine are! Perhaps we could be mindful of those today and intentional in our pursuit of them out of obedience to God. I'm sure He will give you plenty of opportunities to practice them today. Don't just be satisfied with where you are today! I want to be constantly growing, don't you? This list of qualities is what allows us to be a light in a dark world -- these are what make us different! They are so important.
A pastor I listen to said that the Christian life is a long journey in the direction of obedience. If we are striving to be more like Christ today than we were yesterday and working to grow in our love for Him and for others, then I think it's safe to say...God is pleased with you.
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