God’s Word guarantees us an incredible promise. We can be a partaker of His amazing grace! This is so we can be fruitful in our life’s endeavors. Such a promise comes with one caveat: to pursue His nature, His character. Embracing this truth guarantees seeing life through the eyes of Jesus. And this brings real peace and strength on the inside.
RELEVANCE
God does not guarantee a life of bliss. He does, however, guarantee a way of living in His grace and experiencing His peace. If we abound—or live in a way expressly flowing in His virtue, His character—He does assure us His grace and peace.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (2 Peter 1:2-9).
Do you think Peter assumes too much, in thinking we can be partakers in the divine nature? He must have participated in it himself! He did witness Jesus, Moses and Elijah speaking in the Transfiguration. He witnessed glory. Think for a moment though…he was the one who denied Christ three times! He was also the tempestuous one who mouthed off in pride several times. He really did experience transformation! So, you can say he set the bar! He allowed the Holy Spirit to transform him. He, therefore, gave us an example to follow.
REFLECT AND RELATE
In what ways can you grow in faith that builds character like Christ?
What kinds of fruits would represent the knowledge or wisdom of God manifested in your life?
How does love connect with the wisdom of God?
REFERENCES
Jeremiah 9:23-24