Ever Increasing or Effective and Productive

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER OF PETER

EVER INCREASING

OR

EFFECTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE

2 Peter 1:5-9

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.

NIV

Having investigated all the qualities we are adding to our faith, we now can see the reason why we need to add them. Who or which believers would, in their right mind, what to be ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is that not one of our goals, perhaps the main, or foremost important goal in our lives? At least, we should be effective and productive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. In order for this to happen, it is not just about adding those qualities once to our character, but it is adding them in increasing measure. That would mean that is it not good enough to have virtue, or a high moral standard, we are to continually increase in our virtue, or goodness as well as all the others. It would give us the impression this Christian life is not a static one, but rather an active ever-advancing life, never attaining the highest mark, but always on the move in its direction. This life is not about setting goals for our future, or making plans for our retirement, or storing up enough wealth or striving for material goods. This life is not about our physical self, and then making some room for our spiritual side, fitting God into our schedule, in a manner of speech. Our life is all about our relationship, our increasing relationship with our Lord, and His plan for us, fitting in our physical self, so to speak. That is fitting our self into His plan and doing so in ever-increasing amounts. How could we ever think of ourselves as nearsighted and blind? How can we ever forget we have been forgiven of our past sins? Being nearsighted is all about seeing only our self, we do not see beyond self, so we see no need to add these qualities in increasing measure. We only see that we are pretty good now, that we have established a pattern of life according to the list of things we have developed we think are scriptural. Some think that as long as they do not do certain things, and do a few good things, they are “Good Christians”. But we cannot settle for that kind of life as a believer, for we have to be ever-increasing in our knowledge of our divine nature, of our moral standard, or our patience in waiting for our Lord, in our being in control of ourselves, and in our reverence for God, as well as always increasing in being kind to others and our love for them. Again, this is not about being static, accepting where we are in our walk with the Lord, being in a daily pattern, or routine. Someone once told us that the only difference between a routine, which is just a fancy word for a rut, and a grave, is the length. Jesus rose from the grave and so must we, getting out of the rut we are stuck in and start increasing in amount, always increasing, always learning to be more and more like Jesus until that day we see him face to face. We need to be forever being effective and productive in our knowledge of the Lord.