Vision Weekend 2021 - Day 5
OPENING PRAYER:
My Good Father, I praise You for who You are today. Speak to me now.
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirming One’s Calling and Election
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
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, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 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.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
REFLECT:
How does Peter introduce himself? What does this tell us?
At first glance, this passage might seem mostly to be giving us a list of things we can do to be better Christians. I can find 20 qualities here, which together tell us a great deal about what Jesus is like. However, look more closely and we will see that the prime mover in creating and releasing these blessings is not Christians in their feeble efforts, but God himself. It is “through the righteousness of our God” (1) that we have faith; it is “his divine power” (3) which has provided what we need; it is “by his own glory and goodness” (3) that we are called to be his people. I am afraid that my first reading exposes something limited about my own faith. I tend to notice the lists of goodies God offers more easily than I recognize the presence of the wonderful Lord who provides them all.
God’s sovereignty, confirmed here, does not excuse us from striving for these virtues. Peter balances a profound truth of our faith beautifully in verse 10. He writes that—yes—we are called and elected by God, but also that we should be “eager” to make sure we are welcomed by him.
APPLY:
Choose one of the qualities mentioned in verses 5 to 7. Consider how you can allow God to develop this virtue in your life.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Spirit of God, grow Your fruit in my life. I surrender to You now.