So you’ve been a Christ follower for some time and you’re beginning to wonder whether you’re growing. More than that, you’re wondering if you’re being effective in your mission as a disciple maker. The Apostle Peter makes it very clear to all believers that there is a sure-fire test to see if we’re effective as a Christ follower.
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.
2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV
There are 7 characteristics that should be growing and increasingly apparent in your life as you continue on your journey of faith. They are:
- virtue
- knowledge
- self-control
- steadfastness
- godliness
- brotherly affection
- love
Ask yourself: Are these traits growing in you? If you answered yes, then take a look at this article, A Model for Leading, for encouragement to continue. If you answered “no,” then I’m going to give you 3 things you can do every day to increase these 7 qualities in your life.
Carve out time to be silent
Instead of rushing to work, and rushing to a task, wake up a little earlier when there is nobody and nothing around to distract you from being silent and meditating on the Word. If that means rolling out of bed before the sun is up (or your kids!), then you need to take the extra effort to do so. As you silence the world, read your Bible and pray; in this silence, you will hear God whisper to your soul. And when you hear His voice, you will become virtuous and have knowledge of the things of God. God speaks to those who listen for his voice.
Don’t react immediately
Practice a delayed reaction. In other words, don’t react to every situation immediately: especially if those situations are negative or stressful. To have more self-control, take time to process the information and situation you are faced with and then respond thoughtfully. Don’t worry about the time it takes to process and analyze. When you are thoughtful and deliberate, you produce steadfast reactions that are appropriate to your character as a follower of Jesus.
Find reasons to be thankful for those around you
To be loving, you need to practice being thankful for people. If you constantly look down upon certain folks and search for reasons to complain about unlovable people, you must know that is exactly the barrier that keeps others from acting in a loving way toward you. Find a reason, multiple reasons, to love the thorny people around you. It will make you loving and fill you with more compassion and brotherly affection.
None of the things I mentioned is easy. These 3 things are a challenge at first, but will become easier over time and with practice. Practice them regularly and see how the virtues of our faith begin to manifest in your life.
Prayer: Father in heaven, even on our best days, the virtues listed in this passage are not evidenced by our lives. We ask that you help us employ these simple tactics, so we can practice these 7 virtues and make them more vibrant in our lives. Lord, give us the ability and endurance to keep practicing these things in various situations so that they become our nature. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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