The Gift You Already Have
By Dean Collins
I’ve been trying to figure out what to get you for Christmas. I want to get each of you something that is not simply a trinket you will toss aside after seeing it was from me. It’s not that I wanted to give you something small, l but there are a lot of you and my budget is small. But today I found it! I actually don’t own it but I’ve received mine and have confirmed that the source of this gift has availability and shipping is not a problem.
Truthfully I suspect every one of you is in possession of this gift, so my gift is simply a reminder of what you already have. I want us all to take full advantage of this amazing reality!
I’m speaking of faith, a faith that has equal standing with the faith of Peter and the believers! Peter speaking to first-century disciples shared this, and I can’t find anything in Scripture that has changed its truth for today. Equal access. Equal grace. Equal mercy. Equal inclusion in God’s kingdom and in his future plans!
Sometimes I think every one of us might forget what is ours because of a baby born in Bethlehem, raised in Galilee, who died on a cross in Jerusalem, was resurrected on the third day, sits at the right hand of our Father, and will come again in glory. Due to our mistakes, the sins of others, the pace of life, and the challenges of family, health, and work, it is easy to believe we have somehow been displaced. But our place of equal standing is secure because of the level ground at the foot of the cross.
Peter doesn’t stop there with his outpouring of potent reminders. By God’s divine power we have been granted access not to some things but to all things that pertain to life and godliness! These are ours and arrive daily because of the knowledge we have in Scripture about Jesus and what he has already accomplished.
Peter keeps pouring out his description of our glorious realities; we are partakers of the divine nature of God. We didn’t earn this, and according to Peter, it is cultivated throughout our lifetime as we take our supplements. Not oral medications but spiritual characteristics made possible with meditation, prayer, and the development of our faith. Here is how the supplements schedule works:
“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. ”
With daily discipline, we become spiritually fortified and have a promise that our work will be effective. Unfortunately, it is possible that we become forgetful about what we have and who we are in Christ. So we must remind each other and encourage each other not to cling to the past but rather embrace our equal standing in Christ.
Peter was likely in his 60s when he wrote this letter. I can relate. As I get older I also embrace his determination to stir up my brothers and sisters in Christ to the work that God called us to. I pray that as co-laborers in Christ you do the same. The baby born in Bethlehem has changed us all. It’s time to step into the standing we have in Christ and bring joy, love, peace, and transformation to our communities and to the world.
Your Time with God’s Word
2 Peter 1:1-15 ESV
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