everything we need

I like multi-tools. I own a couple of them, one made by Leatherman and the other a Gerber. I like having a pliers, knife, a few screwdrivers and other assorted tools in a single pouch on my belt.

I’ve found, though, that the promise of a tool to do everything is an illusion. Multi-tools actually do a lot of things not very well. You can turn screws with them, but it’s so much work you wouldn’t want to use one to assemble something. Same with most of the other tools. Multi-tools are best used as emergency stopgaps for those times when you need a tool but are far from your toolbox.

My experience with multi-tools has led me to be skeptical of things that claim to be panaceas. There’s one such claim, though, that I wholeheartedly believe. In fact, I pin my hope on it. You can find it in one of my favorite passages, 2 Peter 1:3-4:

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

The one referred to here is named in the previous verse as Jesus our Lord, and this is another great Advent passage. The corruption in the world referred to here is what life without Jesus would be like. After the fall, all of God’s good gifts were twisted by sin. Instead of a loving, procreative act between committed married couples, sex became a tool of power and barter. Marriage itself has been warped from a divine picture of Christ’s love for his church to an expression of self-indulgence and self-permission. Food gives rise to gluttony some places while whole populations starve in others. Drink no longer makes the heart merry, but instead destroys lives. Community has broken down, government is no longer about giving the best to the people. Our world is indeed corrupt.

And without Jesus I’d be sucked into it and pulled down. I’d be completely unable to live out a good marriage, to have healthy appetites, to seek the good of others.

That’s another reason Christmas is a big deal. Look at these verses again. Jesus my lord has given me everything I need for a godly life, one that allows me to escape the corruption of the world. Here’s how: Jesus finally gave us true knowledge of God, both by explaining him and by showing us through his life. By knowing God, we now understand all those promises that we find everywhere in scripture, covenantal promises to love us, care for us, help us prosper, rescue us from sin, empower us against evil, and in the end, a new body in a new creation. And those promises, God’s strength, enable us to participate in God’s own divine nature.

That’s a lot in a few verses. That’s a lot in my life. That’s way bigger than a big deal – it’s everything!