Christian Living

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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. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9


The Lord desires that we might have faith for "...without faith it is impossible to please God". Our faith is the currency needed to transact business with our heavenly Father. One writer says "Faith is the telegraphic wire which links earth and heaven--on which God's messages of love fly so fast, that before we call He answers, and while we are yet speaking He hears us". Having a lot of it will help in our daily walk even though a little dose of faith "...as small as a mustard seed" will still be of value.

In practice, in our walk with the Lord, our faith alone will not carry us through because the reality of life buffets a believer just as the waves buffet the cliffs so much so that with time large chunks begin to get weathered and eroded until total collapse ensues. God has however made provision for faith-strengthening materials which the Bible terms "additions to faith". These are virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.

These additions help in strengthening the pillar of faith just as aggregate and bonding materials are used to fortify a concrete pillar.
The natural inclination is that faith, like any material, will become weak and expire with time when there are no additions which will guarantee its perpetuity. Without them faith will crumble under the corrosive influence of the enemy's relentless attacks, the reality of our existence and the exigencies of our time. Imagine the fate of a concrete pylon which is used to hold a bridge in place over a lagoon. The daily action of the waves and the saltiness of the waters serve to reduce its strength until such a time when the pillar will collapse unless it is replaced. However, instead of going through the trouble of total replacement, God in His wisdom has endowed us with several materials to fortify our faith so that it will stand the test of time and become productive to bring fruits which the Bible refers to as "works". These additions therefore make our faith eternal.

Brethren, you will do well to note the sequence of these "additions". God expects them to come in a particular order; added one after another. It is like a peculiar recipe for a dish, the ingredients of which have their individual importance in time and space. No wonder LOVE comes last as the cementing material which joins every other ingredient together in the service of our God.

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