Building Our Pillar of Faith
Scripture – 2 Peter 1:5-9: 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For 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. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Reflection: What an intriguing image. It’s like a pillar of faith, made up of layer upon layer of different qualities that culminate in love.
As I look at my life and my experience of those various layers, I sometimes have to back down a little because I’ve sort of skipped over one. I’ll look at “perseverance,” for example, and think I’ve got that, so I can jump on ahead to working on “godliness.” All the while, I’ve still got some perseverance issues to resolve or practice.
The directive that really stands out is that I am to “possess these qualities in increasing measure.” It’s like I get everything stacked up like it should be, and then I begin a new pillar where each layer is a bit stronger or deeper than before. For example, I’m in my third year of following an outline to read through the Bible in a year. I read a few chapters each day and reflect on what the Lord is saying to me in them. Each year has been a new experience – a deepening experience – an experience of “increasing measure.”
How are you doing with this pillar of faith? What layer are you working on today?
Reflection: What an intriguing image. It’s like a pillar of faith, made up of layer upon layer of different qualities that culminate in love.
As I look at my life and my experience of those various layers, I sometimes have to back down a little because I’ve sort of skipped over one. I’ll look at “perseverance,” for example, and think I’ve got that, so I can jump on ahead to working on “godliness.” All the while, I’ve still got some perseverance issues to resolve or practice.
The directive that really stands out is that I am to “possess these qualities in increasing measure.” It’s like I get everything stacked up like it should be, and then I begin a new pillar where each layer is a bit stronger or deeper than before. For example, I’m in my third year of following an outline to read through the Bible in a year. I read a few chapters each day and reflect on what the Lord is saying to me in them. Each year has been a new experience – a deepening experience – an experience of “increasing measure.”
How are you doing with this pillar of faith? What layer are you working on today?
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