Great Church 2

2 Peter 1:5-7
Our son is the senior conductor of the school’s brass band and has recently finished with the week-long “camp” where the freshmen members learn how to be part of the band. His comment toward the end of the week was that the freshmen were starting to “get it.” They were figuring out the moves and the music.

Things like the marching band take some time to develop. You don’t walk out on the field and simply start playing and marching perfectly. It takes time and effort to grow and develop, to mature.

Peter continues to make comment on the growth of our faith. What do we add to our faith? What do we add to goodness? What other attributes should we strive for?

As believers in God and believers in Jesus Christ we begin with faith. We have a confidence in the existence of God and in His goodness. We have a basic belief in the gift of Christ as our Savior.

This is the starting point. And from that base we add the qualities of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love. As we grow in our faith, as we mature toward perfection, we learn to be good – that is, we learn to value what is not evil and we learn to live as people who embrace the beneficial aspects of life.

Once we are secure in our faith and in attitudes of an honorable and morally pure life, we can work at increasing our knowledge, our awareness and understanding of our faith and in the ways of God. As we continue to grow and become better Christians we learn to control our baser urges and desires. We learn to remain strong in our faith in spite of challenges and adversities, and we develop our abilities to practice a godly, holy life that produces acts of kindness and mercy.

The life of a faithful believer should be a life that is always growing and improving. It should be a journey that makes us better and better people, more able to live out our faith and share God’s love. The maturing Christian should always strive to “get it,” to understand more fully what our faith is all about and how to live it.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Give your faith an honest evaluation. Where are you in the progression Peter lists? How can you move on to the next level?