Attitude & Effort

"Attitude and effort!" I heard the coach snap on the first day of practice. "All of you can control those two things, and I expect both from each of you all year." He repeated it again for emphasis: "Attitude and effort!" Peter's message to us in 1:5-7 is similar: there is no growth in our Christian lives without the right attitude and the right effort. Let's start with a few broad observations of these important verses.

The four words, "for this very reason," may be the most crucial in the passage. Why? They tie Peter's call to progress in the Christian life (in 1:5-7) to what he's just told us about our power for the Christian life (in 1:3-4). Remember that God has called you to his own glory, God has granted you his divine power, and God has promised that you will share in his divine nature. This is "the very reason" why you can now "make every effort" in Christian growth. It is not all up to you. You are not toiling in your own strength. You are not nervously climbing a ladder up to God, unsure if you will make it in the end. At every step, you are responding to God's call, relying on God's power, and resting in God's promises. We grow "in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (3:18)." This will keep you from growing discouraged when you fail, and proud when you make progress.

I can almost hear the shrill blast of the coach's whistle behind Peter's next three words: "Make every effort!" Yes, our salvation ultimately depends on God's power and grace. But God also calls us to participate in his transforming work. As Paul put it in Philippians 2:12-13: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling--for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." We will not drift into the godly character Peter describes in 1:5-7. We cannot passively wait for God to zap us with a shot of maturity and holiness. Effort is required! Relying on God's power (1:3), I must diligently apply my mind, heart, and strength to the often painful work of growing in godliness. But every effort is worth it!

Peter marks out the path of Christian growth for us when he tells us to "supplement your faith." All true Christian growth starts with saving faith in Jesus. We are not merely trying hard to be good people; we come to Jesus by faith, relying on him to cleanse us of our sins and to make us all that he desires us to be. Saving faith in Jesus is the essential first step--it is also only a first step! The Lord does not want us to settle for the entry-level spiritual maturity we possess when we first trust in him. He calls us to "supplement" that initial saving faith. Add to it! Build on it! Develop it! Let's spend the rest of our lives pursuing the qualities Peter mentions here in 1:5-7, becoming more like the Savior we first trusted.

These godly qualities should be "yours and increasing (1:8)." That's because Christian growth is a process! There will never be a point in my Christian life when I am "done" growing. God himself must complete the work in heaven, when I finally share in his own glory and excellence. Until then, I will always have much room for growth, and much work to do. This should keep us humbly relying on the Lord, no matter how long you have been walking with him. But this is also an encouraging, and even exciting truth: we're all still a work in progress!

Wherever you are, you can grow. The Lord has more of himself for you!

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church