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Holistic

             May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

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. (II Peter 1:5-8)

A few days ago, I focused on II Peter 1:5-8 (the second passage above), discussing it as a progression. Each element needed to be there before the next is added. Peter started with faith. Paul did the same thing, though he didn’t list them in order. He wrote, “as you trust in him.” Even though trust is listed in the middle, it must serve as the foundation of joy and peace.

Once there is trust/faith, then joy and peace show up. If you feel joy and peace, why would you not do something good? If you do something good, would you not feel joy and peace? As you add knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love, would you not find hope? If you have joy and peace, leading to hope, would you not be more motivated to do good, gain knowledge, practice self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love? God doesn’t seem to do anything as stand-alones, including Himself (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

It might be said that He is holistic. He doesn’t give just peace; He gives peace that comes from faith and leads to hope. The fruit of the Spirit IS love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I think I need to stop thinking quite as simplistically as I tend to.

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