Recently, I read a Facebook post by a “Christian” who seemed to be led by her feelings and what she thinks is the right thing to do. I put the word Christian in quotes because she calls herself a Christian, but her feelings do not align with the Bible. Many Christians are led by their feelings, emotions, opinions, and views. But our passage today tells us what we are to be led by. Peter doesn’t pull any punches when he talks about how we are to live and operate.
He says that we should supplement our faith by… moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love for everyone. These are the things that should emanate from our lives. I won’t do a deep dive into these things but if we could sum them up, we might say…
As Christians, we should walk in integrity and do what’s right, not necessarily what feels right. We should take responsibility for our actions… own our mistakes rather than blame others. We should be honest in all our dealings and in our conversations with others. We should be fair and treat people with impartiality, without bias or discrimination. We should show respect to people by valuing their time, boundaries, and opinions. And we should follow the laws of the land and the laws of the Kingdom of God.
Here’s the thing… living a true Christianity is not easy. It takes lots of hard work and discipline. But there are rewards for living this way and Peter expounds on this. There are four benefits from living a godly life of integrity and moral excellence. Here they are…
We become more productive and useful (2 Peter 1:8)! In other words, we have a greater impact on others. We become great vessels for the Kingdom of God when these things are part of who we are.
We prove that we are among God’s people (2 Peter 1:10)! Hence, people will not question who we belong to – they will know. And they may want what we have.
We will never fall away (2 Peter 1:10)! This will keep us from abandoning our faith when trials come or from falling into false teaching.
We will be given a grand entrance into heaven (2 Peter 1:11)! This one gets me every time. Picture the soldier returning from war. The whole town has come out to celebrate. He walks off the plane to clapping, cheering, and confetti filling the sky. This celebration can be heard for miles. What a homecoming, right?
Well, think about the grand entrance you and I will receive when we get to heaven if we have put these principles into practice. Angels, heavenly beings, the armies of heaven, saints already in heaven, loved ones who have gone on before you, and of course, JESUS… all there to celebrate your homecoming. Music like you have never heard before, shouts, clapping, cheering. Heaven has come out to welcome you home. Imagine that!
I’m going for this homecoming. Are you?