2 Peter 1:6 “…Supplement … with patient endurance and patient endurance with godliness…”
Life can definitely have its challenges, and we tend to like things to be easy. I admit I get tired of the constant struggles in this life, but sometimes I wonder if it’s God’s way of getting me to depend on Him more and on myself less. If you ask someone who has a deep faith, how they made it through the most difficult times in their life, how they endured that which brings many people to their knees, they will tell you they did so by relying on God. Endurance is defined as having the power to tolerate or hold up in an unpleasant process or situation without giving way or compromising. Revelation 1:9 says, “I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us”. John, like all the apostles endured much by putting God’s will before their own. On a daily basis they depended on God to get them through every situation, they trusted that in His time, He would make the truth known and they would be vindicated. With patient endurance they would get through the suffering, the persecution and the pain. When we endure then we are blessed through God’s compassion and mercy. It is patient endurance that enables us to continue seeking out and striving towards these Christian traits even when we are suffering. And we are to supplement patient endurance with godliness. Dictionary.com defines godliness as “the quality or practice of conforming to the laws of God; devoutness and moral uprightness”. So simply put, the way we live our life should be consistent with the way Christ lived. Our actions and behaviors should be pleasing to God. But it is not enough to “pretend” like the Pharisees did, as spoke of in Matthew the 23rd chapter. Some people know all the right things to say and do and that is the person you see in public, but behind closed doors they are totally different. These are the people that Paul described in 2 Timothy 3:5 who have a “form” of godliness or they “appear” to be godly, and he warns us to stay away from them. God knows when we truly carry His word in our heart. When we become believers, we are to put away our old way of life and put on the new. Changes don’t always happen overnight, but when you consistently begin to live your life in a way that is pleasing to God then you begin to adopt the qualities of godliness.
With the celebration of Thanksgiving only a few days away, I know many will be busy preparing for the gathering of family and friends. Let us all take time, not just one day a year but every day, to reflect on all the blessings the Father has bestowed upon us. I hope you will join me a week from today as we look at the last characteristics of a Christian. Until then, may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.