Make Every Effort: Supplement

Supplement

2 Peter 1:5b-7

For His divine power has given us everything required 

for life and godliness, 

through the knowledge of Him who called us

 by His own glory and goodness.

   By these He has given us very great and precious promises, 

so that through them you may share in the divine nature,

escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.

   

For this very reason,

 make every effort to supplement your 

faith with goodness, 

goodness with knowledge, 

   knowledge with self-control, 

self-control with endurance, 

endurance with godliness, 

   godliness with brotherly affection, 

and brotherly affection with love.

   For if these qualities are yours 

and are increasing, 

they will keep you from being 

useless or unfruitful 

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

   The person who lacks these things 

is blind and shortsighted, 

and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 

   

Therefore, brothers, make every effort 

to confirm your calling and election, 

because if you do these things 

you will never stumble.

   For in this way, 

entry into the eternal kingdom of 

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 

will be richly supplied to you.

2 Peter 1:3-11

Do you know what it means to supplement? The first thing I thought of were the vitamins many people take for extra health protection- more of an "add on" to something already there. However, the true definition is slightly different: "something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, or reinforce or extend a whole." dictionary.com

Christians strive to be complete, or perfect in Christ, which is a goal we obtain at our death and resurrection. (Philippians 3:12, Hebrews 12:22-24) But how do we know what to do? We are to supplement many things in order to be complete. Today’s passage gives us a wonderful blueprint to follow in building our house. (Matthew 7:24) We are to accomplish them step by step and with much prayer.

2 Peter 1:5-7 truly is a fantastic step-by-step growth chart for the maturing Christian. Just imagine these listed on God's door post - bottom to top - with your name scribbled at each milestone:

Faith 

We know that it is "by grace we are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift-" Ephesians 2:8. It is the required entry point of salvation. Without faith, the rest is moot.

Goodness

When first becoming a Christian, the Bible can be a little overwhelming. Honestly, at times it can be for the veteran as well! When we are lost and don't know what to do, do something good. That is no simple matter when we are not use to it, or things have been going rough, but it is the step we must take to follow Him and get out of our pit.

Knowledge

OK, so you've practiced being good for a while, but have begun to crave more. What do you do? Crack open the Bible and learn something new. So often we open the Bible to read what we've been told by a pastor or teacher, but how often do we start sifting through in search for answers to our own questions and concerns. That is when we are gaining the best knowledge I believe. It is motivated by our spirit to feed our soul.

Self-control

Now that we have learned a few nuggets of wisdom we must apply it to our lives, and that takes more self-control than any of us would like to exude. It truly is one of those baby step necessities. With much prayer and, well... more prayer, it is possible. There is no excuse that "I'm just that kind of person", or "God will still love me and forgive me anyway". Either you love God enough to try and try again, begging His forgiveness each time you stumble, or you don't.

Endurance

We all know that maintaining self-control, the desire to gain knowledge, and being good take a whole lot of endurance. We are told in verse 6 that endurance is an integral part of our growth and maturity, and for good reason. We want to be grown up now! Endurance is the ultimate self-control. God encourages us here that we must keep on keeping on.

Godliness

 I have always thought this sounded somewhat unattainable and overwhelming- as though we were to be almost as perfect as God. However, godliness is defined as conforming to the laws and wishes of God, and having a great reverence for Him. That is the next natural step in growth. Once we have endured in a particular matter, we respect God for who He is and what He has done for us. This love should naturally manifest itself as a desire to conform with great reverence to Him. This is godliness.

Brotherly Affection

Up to this point we have been somewhat self focused and internal. Now, it is time to take what we have learned in our growth and branch out. Brotherly affection is not natural for some – OK, many – of us and it takes discipline, but the love and respect we have for our Lord and Savior enables us. Here is the neat thing: It’s not just for those brothers and sisters in Christ we like or humor… it’s everyone. Suddenly, we find that not only do we begin to tolerate people who we never could before, but we actually start to care about them. Who says He isn’t the God of miracles!

Love

True, pure love is supernatural.

But as we plant the seeds of brotherly affection, in the fertile soil of godliness, having been tilled by endurance and self-control with the knowledge gained by goodness in our field of faith… we reap the most delicious fruits of love.

This cycle within a cycle is a path we tread with every lesson learned, yet at the same time is a total growth process in and of itself. What has God been teaching you lately? Where are you on the growth chart? How about the sum of your spiritual maturity? Would you say your Father in heaven is proud our your growth, or are you needing a few supplements?