A GREAT LIST TO START YOUR WEEK
2 Peter 1:5-11 NKJV
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I happen to love lists. I have lists for my day and task lists for things that need to get done. Lists help me focus on what needs my attention. Lists also help me prioritize what is important. The list in this first chapter of Second Peter is an extremely important one. What I am not sure of is why we, and by 'we' I mean me, don't emphasize this list more.
The reasons this list should be a high priority are significant. The payoff for keeping this list is substantial. So let's look at the payoff, what adhering to this list will produce in our lives. The first and biggest reason is that if the qualities on this list are in our lives in abundance, not just a little, but a lot, then we will be productive and fruitful in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus. That's big. If we are keeping this list, we are going to have insight into Jesus. We are going to know Him and represent Him in even greater ways. We could stop right there and be satisfied, but Peter is not done.
If we lack the qualities that are on this list, we become spiritually shortsighted, even to the point of blindness. Whoa, that is significant. Who wants to be shortsighted and blind? Neither of those is a good option. And if we are lacking these qualities, we have lost sight of what Jesus has done for us in the new birth and the forgiveness of sins.
But wait, there is more. If we keep the qualities spelled out in this list, we will never stumble. These qualities, when in abundance, solidify our hearts in God's calling and election on our lives. And never stumbling is a highly attractive benefit. Keeping this list of character qualities supplies an entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am not totally sure all that entails, but any kind of abundant entrance into God's Kingdom sounds like a win-win scenario.
Excited about the list? Here it is in a nutshell. Start with your faith and add a heaping dose of diligence to add these other qualities. We will never get away from faith; this is an operating principle of God's Kingdom. Add to your faith virtue. Virtue has been defined as moral excellence. A whole lot of stumbling has taken place in that arena, so virtue is a biggie. Add knowledge. I am assuming spiritual knowledge gained from God's Word and fellowship with Him. And to knowledge add self-control. I can see where putting these qualities into practice is a big stumbling reduction activity. To self-control, add perseverance, the refusal to quit, and staying consistent while enduring adversity. Then add godliness, a consciousness of God, and awareness of living for Him. Then, brotherly kindness, a missing trait online, and then the divine God kind of love. Whew, that is some list. And the benefits are some kind of awesome.
APPLICATION
Here is the good news. If we didn't have the capacity to put these qualities into practice, it would be unjust of God to require them of us. But we have been made new and forgiven of our past sins. We can do this. The results are more than worth the effort.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to put this list into my life in a big way. I want to know You more, and You possess all of these qualities. Thank You for the ability and the help to grow in these areas.