Every effort

 When someone starts a sentence with "For this reason," then you'd better take what they say next in the context of what they just said. Peter starts 2 Peter 1:5 with those words, so remember that verse 4 says if we live by the promises of God we'll be able to escape the corrupting influences of this world.

With that in mind, Peter says, "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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, 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. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." (2 Peter 1:5-9 ).

Because we want to be holy, Peter says, we need to work at it. Make every effort, he says. Not just a little effort. Not just some effort sometimes. Every effort, he says, which means if there's one more thing I haven't tried yet, I need to do that too.

We need to build on the faith we have, Peter says, by working hard to add this list of spiritual fruits. I once based a year's worth of church council devotions on these virtues. An interesting exercise: Ask, "What specifically would have made the people I met today call me . . . " and insert the characteristic. Would they call me good? Or self-controlled? Hmmm . . .

Remember, to start this book Peter said that knowledge of God's promises gives us everything we need to live right (see previous post "Everything").  Now Peter says (v8) that we need this laundry list of virtues or we will be "ineffective and unproductive" in our knowledge. In other words, just knowing won't do the trick.

So, in addition to knowing my Bible, I have a daily assignment to become more of each of these seven things. Without them, Peter says, I'll stumble around like a blind man, probably because I won't see the world like the Creator does.