2 Peter 1: 5-7 tells us to….add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (love).
The hardest thing on this list for many is patience; the ability to wait. Webster defines it as “a calm endurance.” How many of us need help in waiting calmly when there is so much to get done and seemingly so little time to do it?
Many times I have heard Christians advise others never to pray for patience…. unless you really want to be tried by the Lord and overcome with troubles. It says in Romans 5:3….tribulation worketh patience. Praying for patience in our everyday situations is maybe enough to start with….then when the real challenges come we hopefully can endure them calmly.
I remember saying as a youngster, “I spend half my life waiting.” Many feel this way at times when sitting in a doctor’s office, being put on hold when trying to make an important phone call or standing in line at the grocery store. Truth is, waiting does take up a lot of our time, which adds stress to those who are already stressed out….but maybe that should tell us just how important it is to learn patience.
Lack of patience often leads to destruction. Road rage for drivers, parents yelling at their children, foul language and violence are often the result of little or no patience. If we cannot remain calm while simply standing in line or waiting for a red light to turn green, how are we to deal with major obstacles….like death, loss of a job or the many other problems we all must face at times?
The first thing on the list God gave us is virtue: a general moral excellence. When we accept Christ as our Savior we have a desire to be more like Him or at least more acceptable in His presence….this is a product of our faith, which led us to Him in the first place. If we try to do this on our own we might find the task too difficult and eventually fall back into our old ways. This is why spending time with other Christians is important along with the next thing on the list.
Add to virtue knowledge. I take this to mean knowledge of God and who He is. The best way to do this is through Bible study which you can do on your own, but is best taught by others with first hand knowledge of Jesus and how He works in our lives. Sunday School is a good place to start in your search for knowledge, but it is once a week and a daily dose is needed…. and best administered by God Himself through the pages of His Holy Word. If you tried to read the Bible before being saved you might not have gotten too much out of it, but once you become a child of God the words begin to make sense and you can apply them to your everyday life. Another way is through prayer. Simply talk to Him as you would any other friend and always be aware of His presence. Draw close to Him and He will draw close to you.
The next thing to add is temperance: self-restraint or discipline. Moderation in everything we do, eat or drink. For some, this is difficult and for others once they are saved it becomes a natural change. Discover the areas you need to work on and ask for God’s help in doing better.
Looking at the list again, I think if we accomplish the first three, or at least get a grip on them, the rest will come more easily. Temperance should lead to patience; patience to godliness; godliness to brotherly kindness; and brotherly kindness to love.
Jesus tells us Himself in Matthew 11: 29-30 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
We are to be diligent in adding these things to our faith so we will not be barren or unfruitful in our knowledge of of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Then we will be able to (Hebrews 12:1) … run with patience the race that is set before us.