Lists w/ Love
"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love."
2 Peter 1:5-7 NASB1995
Once again, the list builds up to “love”. This list was a favorite of my father’s as he would often recite it in prayers; petitioning God for help in applying all diligence to living these Christian virtues. And “diligence” is the key. “Applying all diligence, in your faith…” and in every Christian virtue, diligence is the key. For anyone can practice any Christian virtue from time to time. To be fervent at one time and lacking at another. But growing and maturing in each virtue requires the key virtue of diligence. Lord, give us diligence.
The “reason” for the application of diligence to each virtue is because we have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust through the calling of the glorious gospel - the true knowledge of God and His promises.(II Peter 1:3-4) When you see sin for what it is, and know sin for what it is, and are thankful by the gospel to have escaped its deceit and death, then you want to live for the Lord. You desire to live for Him. You see and know His ways are better, and that life and peace are found in His ways. And so as a disciple, you desire to grow in the virtues of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit goes on to say that those who are not living and growing in these qualities do so because they have “forgotten” what Jesus has done for them. We become useless and unfruitful in Christian service. To continue to grow in the virtues of the Lord is a sign of our continued love for our Savior and gratitude for what He has done for us. It is a sign of our true, genuine, authentic faith in Christ Jesus and conversion from worldliness. And the more we grow in these virtues, the closer we grow to be like Him and with Him.
And that is the end and goal of our love, “for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (II Peter 1:11) In what way? “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble…” (v.10) This way. The way of diligence. The way of love.
Sometimes we may not “feel” the assurance of salvation. Not because we have a lack of faith in God, or His grace, or His promises, but because we know we are not really living for Him as we should. We find ourselves constantly stumbling and asking ourselves “Why?” and feel like we can never conquer that which we continually stumble over so seemingly easily. Perhaps we will find the root of the problem here, in that we are not applying “all diligence” in the Christian virtues which bring us closer to God. Perhaps if we start here, and diligently apply these virtues in our daily living, then our love in Christ and for Christ will grow, and our confidence in the entrance to the eternal kingdom being abundantly supplied to us will grow as well.
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