“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. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” (2 Peter 1:8-9)
What qualities are Peter speaking of? Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love; these are all qualities that are to exist in a Christian. We must cultivate them like a garden. They don’t just happen. They are borne out of certain diligence to acquire them. To not do so is to forget from what the Lord plucked us out of. We were all dying in our sins. Christ took our punishment and shame willingly. God knows the formula for better living; He knows what will bring us true peace, contentment and fulfillment in this life. He knows that if we exhibit these aforementioned character qualities we will not only be better off ourselves but be an example to those around us of what can be if they too would submit to the Lordship of Christ.
To possess these qualities is to own them like a new set of clothes. We are to wear them. We are to exhibit them. We are to be a shining representative of our Lord each day. While days will no doubt come when we will not be ‘on our game’ so to speak, that doesn’t mean we lose these qualities. Because we are human we will have good days and bad days; days when our mood is up and days when it is down. We are painfully human and God understands this. He created us from nothing in our mother’s womb. He knows everything about us and in so knowing also knows the greatness that is within us, for He placed it there. It started as a seed and depending on how we have proceeded in life; that seed either grew or dried up for lack of nourishment. However, like a burned out vineyard, if we seek hard enough we will find a piece of the root somewhere that is alive and from that smallest piece of live root can grow a luscious vineyard once again.
Do not be discouraged if you do not feel you have these characteristics listed above. It is never too late to acquire them and they are available to you just for the asking. If you ask God to move within you by His Holy Spirit and make you all He knows you can be in His name, it will happen. It takes time, but as it has been said before, time only means something to us … time is irrelevant to God. Become all you can be; allow God to mold you a little more into His image each day.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
