His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. 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.
2 Peter 1:3-8
Sin is our reality.
Surely no reasonable person who takes their faith seriously will contest this premise. Sin is why we need forgiveness. Sin is why Jesus shed his blood upon the Cross at Calvary. Sin is the hurdle we must all overcome.
Sin is our reality. Is sin our destiny as well?
Are we fated to be forever crippled by sin, eternally undone by our own mistakes?
To a degree, yes. We are imperfect, fallen creatures, and it is beyond our power to become otherwise. Perfection, spiritual or otherwise, is not an option in this world.
Yet we are not fated to keep making the same mistakes, committing the same sins, over and over. We are imperfect but we are capable of learning, of growth, and even of improvement. Every aspect of human existence assures us of this.
We all learn to read, learn to do maths, hopefully learn to think critically and act rationally.
People do learn to change their behavior, hopefully for the better.
People grow—physically, emotionally, psychologically, and even spiritually.
Most crucially, we are called to growth. We cannot be born again into a life of continual transformation unless we grow. We cannot transform ourselves except by growing.
For everyone, regardless of faith or devotion to God, this is the order of things.
If we do not grow, we will inevitably stagnate, enduring what amounts to a living death long before we shuffle off this mortal coil.
For everyone, regardless of faith or devotion to God, this, too, is the order of things.
We are called to be born again. We are called to be continually transformed. We are called to grow.
How then, shall we grow?
The first and most obvious step is to learn something. Learn anything.
Learn to cook a new dish for family dinner.
Learn how to put in an electrical outlet.
Learn how to assemble a computer from parts.
Every skill we add to our repertoire is not merely an expansion of our human potential, it is an opportunity for spiritual growth as well. Every skill we learn can bring us that much closer to God.
By learning we increase all that we can do to love our neighbor even as we love ourselves. By learning we can expand what we can do to serve God, follow His Law, and heed His Word.
Learn to cook and we have the potential to feed others.
Learn how to do basic home repair and we have the potential to shelter others.
Learn first aid and we have the potential to take better care of the sick and injured.
The more we learn, the more we can be the sheep and not the goats described in Matthew.
When we study math and science, we open our eyes ever wider to the majesty of God’s Creation. This universe and all that is within, from the smallest stone on earth to the most distant star in the heavens, was created by God. If we study all the wondrous aspects of His Creation (and there are many wondrous aspects), how can we not draw closer to God?
The more I learn of the world and how it functions, the more I am awed by what God created. Those who are constantly demanding proof of God’s existence need only look around to realize that the ordered, rational, coherent universe in which we exist is impossible without God as the Creator. Random effects do not produce coherence, and the universe has been proven many times over to be coherent.
When we commit to learning, be it a subject or a skill, we acquire something else as well: discipline.
Learning does not just happen. Learning takes effort. Learning takes commitment. Learning takes a willingness to do the hard task even if at times we simply do not want put out the effort.
Learn to play a musical instrument, and we not only open ourselves to the beauty of music but we discipline ourselves to the craft of music.
Learn a martial art and we not only make ourselves more resilient in the face of crisis, but we discipline ourselves to the mastery of that art.
Building up self-discipline and dedication in this way can strengthen one’s resolve. The more one is accustomed to practice even when tempted to slack off, the deeper the reserve of self-control to resist temptations of all kind.
As the Apostle Peter teaches us, a love of learning leads us to learn. From that knowledge comes the habits of self-discipline. From the habits of self-discipline comes the traits of focus and dedication. All these virtues together can nurture within us greater reverence and devotion to God, and greater understanding of the needs both of ourselves and our neighbors for love, compassion, and genuine empathy.
We are not meant to languish in the same sins, the same mistakes, day after day throughout our lives. We are meant to be eternal works in progress—always striving, always growing, always reaching up for God.
Thus my prayer today is that I will remain dedicated to learning and growth. My prayer today is that I will greet each day as one more chance to expand my horizons. My prayer today is that, as I learn more and ever more, I will be brought closer and ever closer to God.
Thus my prayer for you is that you also will be dedicated to learning and growth. My prayer for you is that you will greet each day as one more chance to expand your horizons. My prayer for you is that, as you learn more and ever more, you will be brought closer and ever closer to God.
We are called to be born again. We are called to be continually transformed. We are called to grow, to be eternal works in progress.
For me, for you, and for everyone, this is always the order of things.
I have had glimpses of how much you have grown just during the past two and a half years, Peter. You are progressing, and have grounds to be pleased with your personal growth in knowledge and wisdom. Really!
When we wish to grow in certain respects, away from sin, but have internal conflicts, we need to track down the root impediment. Usually it’s deeply buried past trauma, often from childhood, that we don’t want to deal with and therefore can’t resolve. You already know this, of course. It’s usually a core of anger, grief, sadness, and difficulty in forgiving. Only you can nail down the feeling. Only you can confront it, actually feel the deep sorrow or rage, and cry it out of your system, in order to achieve personal peace. What’s important is to FEEL it, because that bottled up powerful energy has to be released! It doesn’t work to merely intellectually figure it out. Plus, I’ve read around a hundred experts who say that the energy of deeply buried emotions such as rage, if not expressed, will be turned against your own body’s health, as heart attacks, depression, and other forms of mis-application.
I know from my own personal experience that sometimes a person has to go through multiple iterations of trying to forgive someone completely, maybe over decades, before the emotions are truly in the past. This includes forgiving God for having inflicted upon you circumstances that felt like cruelties. Once the energy has been dissipated, you are able to grow towards your more Christ-like intentions. You are finally able to conquer sinful tendencies, grow in Christ, and have your undesired behavior be firmly in your past. Peace at last!
Blessing to you always, dear Peter.