by Joe Dennis
March 10, 2015
2 Peter 3-10: His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.
Everyone had a Nintendo, except me. My parents thought the Commodore 128 we had was sufficient enough for video games, but they were wrong. I couldn’t play Super Mario Brothers, Blades of Steel or Punch Out on a Commodore. In my bedtime prayers every night, my 9-year-old self would include a request for a Nintendo. But after several unanswered prayers, I asked my dad why God wasn’t listening. He told me this story:
A man prayed every day to God that he would win the lottery. Day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year, the man made the same daily request. But he never won. After the man died in his old age, he went to heaven and saw God.
“God, how come you never answered my prayers?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” asked God.
“Every single day for the past several years I prayed that I would win the lottery. But I never won,” he said.
“Son,” God said. “You never bought a lottery ticket.”
I understood what my dad was saying. So I continued praying and picked up some extra chores around the house, and volunteered to do chores around my aunt’s home. And I still prayed. After a few months, I had a lot of money saved up, but not nearly enough for a Nintendo. But God answered my prayers, as my parents – seeing the effort I put in to achieve my goal – agreed to pick up the difference so I could finally get my prize.
Of course, 2 Peter 3-10 is not about video game systems or lottery tickets. But it is about the effort we willingly put into our life. God has empowered us with “everything needed for life and godliness,” but the impetus is on us to “make every effort to support (our) faith.”
It’s easy to question God when we see injustice in the world. We may pray that God will thwart the injustice and overcome evil, and when the injustice persists we question God. But we really need to question ourselves. We prayed and prayed, but did we buy that lottery ticket? Did we do anything to help change the situation? Did we “make every effort to support our faith”? Or did we just pray, and continue on our lives in the same fashion, leaving the entire responsibility in God’s hands?
Prayer: God, thank you for giving me everything needed for life and godliness. Help me use these gifts to support my faith with goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, affection and love. Help me put my faith into action and be the impetus for change in this world. Amen.
Prayer: God, thank you for giving me everything needed for life and godliness. Help me use these gifts to support my faith with goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, affection and love. Help me put my faith into action and be the impetus for change in this world. Amen.