A Fruitful Life

2 Peter 1:5-8

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s a pretty big promise - “you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Do I want to live a fruitful life? Yes, of course I do. It’s such an extravagant promise I find myself drawn toward the promise at the expense of the prerequisites. Real fruitfulness takes time. This is not a “no-bake” recipe. This list of ingredients is folded into my life on a daily basis. My “faith” becomes “faith” when it is tested. Until I have said “no” to temptation, “self-control” is not a significant part of my character. Real “love” cannot find expression in isolation. It begins in relationships that are safe and comforting and matures when manifested toward someone who seems to have nothing to offer in return.

What about the promise? Am I guaranteed a fruitful life? Perhaps there is a hidden promise. It’s not the promise of fruitfulness that is greatest. Fruitfulness is very important to me. But, the source of fruitfulness is much more valuable. As I read through this list carefully, I must confess that Jesus Christ is my source and inspiration. The list begins with faith and ends with love. My faith is in Christ. I love because Christ first loved me. The greater promise in this passage is that the character of Christ will increase in my life. When that is true, my life cannot be barren or unfruitful.

Without a purpose, life can become hollow…I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched.

 

Clayton M. Christensen

Bread of Life

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)

Sometimes I stop reading before I finish a book. Sorry to admit it. Are the final words really that important? There is an echo in my head from teachers long that a proper conclusion is designed to “tell ‘em what you told ‘em”. Well, if you have already told me then I don’t want to read it again. In the case of reading through the short epistle known as 2 Peter that would be a tragedy. I’m glad I read the last verse.

How can I describe my life with Jesus in just a few words? 2 Peter 3:18 answers the question. A healthy life with Jesus is characterized by growth in grace and the knowledge of Him. This imperative verb form doesn’t read as if growth is optional. It is a powerful directive aimed in my direction. The letter closes with a personal admonition – “Paul, don’t forget to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus”.  

Is it possible to live a life that is contrary to this recipe for life in Christ? Of course it is. Look within. Look around. Malnourished souls abound. Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life”. His declaration is non-negotiable. True life is found in Jesus. Only Jesus satisfies.  Craig Dykstra notes,

“We can turn everything from computer chips and laser beams to legal briefs and leveraged buyouts into daily bread. The bread that we feed on is the bread of business and busyness and boredom, a bread known both in and out of the church. This bread will not satisfy our deepest hunger.”

Dykstra continues,

“We are hungry without fully knowing it, needy but unaware, in exile but unable to remember another home. We need to recognize our true hunger – hunger not for the things we can make, buy, and consume but for another kind of “daily bread”, a daily bread we do not produce and cannot control all by ourselves.”

I am beginning to understand this hunger. I am beginning to recognize these intense cravings. If your spiritual stomach is growling, it may be a sign. I hunger for growth in grace and the knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Building a life

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)

For the past few months, I have watched a large construction project across the street from our church building. The project began with demolition of the old structures and preparation for the new. The “Grand Opening” is scheduled in the near future. I remember when I first learned the identity of the primary structure. Identity is important. Once I heard the news, I was able to respond to the question -  “What is being built?”  It’s an appropriate question and I’m never surprised when I am asked.

Should I be surprised if I am asked the same question with regard to my life? Probably, it’s a question I should be asking myself on a regular basis.  What kind of life am I building? One of Jesus better-known disciples offered some coaching a long time ago. Peter wrote, “We are being built up a spiritual house.”

Just like the project across the street, my life has included some “demolition”. I feel like I have been leveled out a few times too. Obviously, a spiritual house is not built with bricks and mortar. Rather, a spiritual house is built using “living stones”. Building with “living stones” can be a little tricky. Structural integrity is essential. My structural integrity is directly related to another living stone, Jesus Christ. Certain aspects of my house are predetermined by the Master builder. The “plans” show a spiritual house, a holy house and a house that offers up acceptable worship to God.

There is one aspect of Peter’s description of life that leaves me deeply moved. Occasionally, I have been in a Home Depot and watched a builder inspect lumber. Several times, I have seen the process unfold. The best pieces are selected, the others left behind. Peter mentions both aspects. He mentions “rejection” and he mentions “selection”. I expect to be among those pieces of lumber rejected. I am not strong enough or straight enough. I am filled with imperfections and weaknesses. But, Peter reveals two aspects of the same marvelous truth. Frist, I am not rejected. Second, Jesus was. Because of God’s grace I am both “chosen” and “precious”. Seems impossible. Yet, it is possible because Jesus was rejected on my behalf in order to make a way for me to be chosen. He took on all my imperfections and bore my rejection for me. Now, together with him, I am being built into the kind of house that pleases God.

Joy during Tests

For long centuries those who belong to the world have waged war against the way of faith, and they have yet to win.

Eugene Peterson

I have been studying the first chapter of 1 Peter this past week. Some of the letter is reminiscent of his preaching contained in the book of Acts. Peter continues to proclaim the message of the resurrection of Jesus. Because of the New Testament record, I know about some of Peter’s experiences before and after Jesus raised up from the dead and ascended in heaven. But, I can only imagine what his life was like between the ascension and when he wrote this particular letter. Peter is aware of tough challenges. If church tradition is correct, Peter became a martyr after writing the letters we know as 1^st and 2^nd Peter. With that in mind, I consider his words carefully. Peter encourages believers, who are scattered around Asia Minor, to rejoice in the midst of trails.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. (1 Peter 1:6-9)

What feeds my rejoicing in the midst of trials? What is my source of joy when my faith is being stretched? Peter gives several answers to these questions. He elevates my field of vision from what is happening today to consider the impact on eternity. He refines my focus from “what’s happening to me” to “how does this glorify God?” Finally, Peter reminds me of what matters most: “Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love”.

When I read those words, I remember another time when Peter was tested. He failed. He failed miserably. In the midst of his fiery trial, Peter was asked if he was a follower of Jesus. In response, Peter violently refused to be associated with Jesus. When Jesus restored Peter and commissioned him to become a shepherd of believers, Jesus asked a straightforward question, “Do you love me?” Now, years later, Peter goes back to the heart of the matter. When I’m tested, I must remember to focus on my love for Jesus and that will always give me cause to rejoice.