For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
2 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV)
What Peter Says We Forget
God never asks his people to grow out of nothing. Before Peter lists what he hopes to see in believers, he reminds them that God’s power has given them everything they need for a godly life.
Then comes his list: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, affection for one another, and love. He wants these to grow, and he asks them to work at it.
He also describes the believer who doesn’t have them. That person is “nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”
When faith feels thin, remembering is a good place to start. You were cleansed. Every sin you brought to Christ was washed away, and you can grow from there.
When did you last thank him for it?
A Prayer to Remember
Lord, thank you for washing me clean. I don’t want to forget it. Let goodness and love grow in me out of that.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
