A Quality Christian Persists in Change
2 Peter 1: 5-7
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; 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."
We looked at the first part of the qualities for a growing Christian yesterday. Today we continue to look at these traits for change. Hopefully God continues to change us as we commit ourselves to be His best.
Add to self-control perseverance. Perseverance is part of self-control, but has a different flavor to it. Wait for the Lord. In our society of instant gratification, it is so hard to wait. I've got down making popcorn in 2 minutes in the microwave and believe it or not the commercials aren't quite long enough to run up pop it in and get down without missing some of the program.
If something doesn't work right instantly, I can get irritated instead of keeping at it to get it right. Waiting and taking time to do something well can be hard in our time conscious society. I served on the Indian Ministries Committee of the Conference. Working on the reservation for years before you see fruit, converts, and establish churches seems like such a long time. God bless the missionaries that can persevere, realizing it take a long time to develop the soil for revival of the spirit. Their faithfulness, with or without results, is what keeps them focused on God's call in their life. There are lessons that some people only learn when they are in a period of their life God calls them to wait.
Persevering faith is giving God your best regardless of the circumstances. Don't give up! Isn't it interesting, that those of us who have all eternity before us, can't be a little more patient with the minutes, hours, days, and years.
Add to perseverance godliness - that is God-likeness. It means having the same mind as Jesus Christ - to view things from a Divine perspective. It is to have a right view of God in our living and the right view of others in our relationships with mankind. Of one ancient saint someone wrote, "He was so pious and devoutly religious that he would take no step apart from the will of heaven; so just and upright that he never did a trifling injury to any living soul; so self-controlled, so temperate, that he never at any time chose the sweeter instead of the better, so sensible, so wise, and so prudent that in distinguishing the better from the worse he never erred"
Add to godliness, brotherly love. Philadelphia is the Greek word for brotherly love. The point Peter was making was compassion, togetherness and love all need to be demonstrated among believers. Kindness begins in the family and also in the family of God. That doesn't mean we can be unkind to those who are no believers, but when we have the spirit of God, there should be more reasons to encourage one another instead of tearing one another down. I am always surprised when certain Christians and certain Christian groups forget who the enemy is. I don't agree with some of my Christian brothers and sisters in the faith. We don't always think alike, but some of the most bitter, unforgiving, and unkind words are expressed to people by those who claim to be Christians.
Lastly Peter mentions the deepest form of love. The Greek is “agape” love. That is the self-giving, self-sacrificing love that just isn't in us to have unless it is given from above.
Jesus did not say, “All men will know you are my disciples if you grow big churches, if you pass just laws or if you restore decency to the family and environment. They will not know you are Christians if you clean up pornography and make TV and Computer use more wholesome, but rather they will know you are Christians by your love. That is the key people see.”
These eight qualities are important for us to keep with effort and diligence, adding to our faith in growing measures.
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