Skip to main content

But Wait, There's More


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. 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. (II Peter 1:5-8) 

            "You've just gotta believe " Well, it's a good place to start. "I'm a good person." That's good to hear. I won't even argue that no one is 100% good. It's true, but for the moment, we'll assume that you're "good." There are times when it seems as if people think that believing and being good are God's only goals for us. 
            Recently, I saw a video of a high school football team. Each player brought an orange rose out to lay at the feet of a cheerleader who is battling leukemia. Imagine bringing the roses of your perfections to lay at the feet of Christ. You bring your faith. That's one. You bring your goodness. If you brought both, that's two. Some people are relying on their goodness apart from any faith, they have only one. In this passage, Peter suggests that we produce no fewer than 8 roses to present to Christ: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness (not the same as goodness), brotherly kindness and love. He goes on to suggest that we leave them on the "plant" so that they grow bigger and more beautiful. It is not one of them, but all of them that make you effective and productive in our knowledge of the Lord. I don't want to lay a rose at Jesus' feet. I'd like to give Him a whole flourishing bush. 
       I want to be like those infomercials, bringing faith and goodness, and then being able to say, "But wait, there's more" not because I am so great, but because I'm greatly blessed

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more