Effective Series: Called

What's tugging at your heart these days? That lingering feeling that there might be more for you to do isn't one to be ignored. Many of us long to be impactful individuals, guiding the world toward something better; but it may feel as though the world we live in is beyond repair, and that any effort to produce change would be futile. I believe that this doubt is in direct conflict with the Word of God spoken through Peter in his second letter, in which we're told "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness..."

All things? That's quite the memo. It may seem like a lofty message, but the aim isn't one of self-aggrandizement. Rather, it's a call to step into the promises—the glory, the excellence, the divine nature—which Christ opened up to us through His death and resurrection. These are good things, which can be and ought to be accepted humbly. We're not meant to sit idly by as life moves past us. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong about living a simple life—go to Church on Sunday, read your Bible in the mornings, pray at night, be a good neighbor—many of us are called to do just that; and what I'm not suggesting is that each of us ought to seek out royally extravagant and flashy lives "for the Lord." But, there are gifts and opportunities that God gives each of us that we may be effective in every walk of life, regardless of what the specific call looks like. However, we must be aware that there is indeed a call and a need to be effective in it.

This is Peter's charge to us in this section of the letter (2 Peter 1:3-11): that we may each—through the knowledge of Christ Jesus—step into the glory set before us through effective and fruitful faith. We weren't given the gift of salvation to hold onto, as though it weren't in overwhelming abundance; rather, we're called to live more boldly, to give more joyfully, to be more mindful of the treasures we have in Heaven as heirs.

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:3-11).

That's a big chunk of Scripture, but the point is that we're not simply called to excellence and left to fend for ourselves. Peter gives us a list of traits which, each added unto another, will provide a solid enough foundation within us to live lives confirmed and effective. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love: this is a progression of traits which would do us well as believers to step into. One by one, we'll walk through each of these traits and see just how we ought to walk in them and how they add to the foundation of our walks in faith. But before we get there, we need to be solid on the purpose of all this.

What Do We Have as Believers?

The first thing to us to grasp is the fact that we have been given everything that we need to live a godly life (as the NLT translation puts it). That word "everything" holds a lot of weight; it means that we have access to every ounce of *fill in the blank* that we might need but continue to convince ourselves we still lack. This could be time, money, motivation, energy, talent, community, information, opportunity, and so many other things. But Scripture is very clear here: if the goal is a godly life (and it ought to be), then we have every thing that we need and that's not a fact that ought be quickly forgotten. The sinful patterns and habits that slow us down have already been defeated.

We're free, and all that's left to do is grasp this reality and remind ourselves of it daily. Doing so opens the way for us to "partake in divine nature." This divine nature is simply one that has departed from the sinful ways of man. Scripture is clear that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," that's a fact that we cannot escape. But what is also true is that we no longer have to grasp onto that identity as sons and daughter of the Father (Romans 8:12-17). We get to choose whether our next step will be a Spirit-led move or a flesh-led move—history shows us that this isn't always an easy decision to make and act on, but it's not impossible. Another thing that we can be sure of is that God has precious promises for us, and we can trust that He will come through (2 Timothy 2:13).

Why Does This Matter?

The final thing we're given is a prompt: let the qualities—faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love—be growing as parts of your identity. The purpose of this prompt: Effectiveness. Hence the name of the series. Each of us is called to a greater purpose of proclaiming the Gospel to the world, but we're called to do so in different ways. Each of us with different gifts, talents, desires, audiences, and opportunities, but all of equal importance and for the glory of the one true God. Romans 12 verses 3 through 8 say:

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God had assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts (encourages), in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness" (Romans 12:3-8).

Again: one great commission, many methods of carrying it out, but some common traits and habits that would do well for all of us to continue growing in. We will dig into these traits in the days and weeks to come, but you have to know where the Lord is taking you (or at least where He isn't). Without a direction in mind, we wander aimlessly and blindly. "Therefore brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." Be blessed, seek wisdom, and enjoy.

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2 Peter 1:3-11*