2 Peter 1:5-8

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, mutual affection;; and to mutual affection, 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.

Peter is writing to those who have already placed their faith in Christ.  So as he has told them in verses 3 and 4, they already possess all that is necessary to live a life of holiness before God.  But, God will not force us to live our lives for Him.  There must be desire, determination, and discipline on our part to cultivate a life of obedience to God.

The first characteristic we are to add to our faith is goodness, this is spiritual courage to stand for what is right in a hostile world.

Next is knowledge, knowledge of spiritual truth by studying Gods Word and obeying its sacred precepts.

Then we are to add self-control and perseverance, self-control and perseverance go hand-in-hand.  The Christian life is a challenge to endure at times.  It is not enough to be self-controlled when all is going just great in life, but even when times are rough and we are experiencing very trying circumstances.  This is when the perseverance comes in to play and we must press on in the face of all that seems to be against us!

The next characteristics we should have is godliness.  Our lives should reflect our heavenly Father, when the unsaved look at our conduct they should see a likeness of God.  1 Timothy 4:8 tells us that godliness is profitable for all things that are now and yet to come.

Lastly we have mutual affection and love, these identify us to the world as disciples of Jesus Christ. 

John 13:35 says that by our love for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, the world will know who we belong to and serve Him.  As we practice this love for other believers, we will also show God’s love to the unsaved who desperately need Christ.  The life of every believer should be hallmarked by love.  This love should be evident on our faces and in our actions to all we come into contact with each day.  Our hearts should be bubbling over with the love that God has shown us and that we can now share with everyone!

We certainly have the power through the indwelling Holy Spirit to posses these qualities.  However, if we choose to practice disobedience to Gods Word in our lives, we will not be effective in our witness for Christ and we will be unfruitful as well.  There is no standing still in our walk for Christ, we are either moving forward, or going backward.  We should be diligent in our walk for Jesus, purposing in our hearts to live a life that is pleasing to Him and therefore a blessing to us and those around us.

Thank You precious Lord Jesus for coming to this earth and shedding Your blood for my sins.  Help me to be ever developing the characteristics of You as I live my life.  I love you so my Yahweh and give You all praise this day, Amen!