Read ‘n Ponder

2 Peter 1:2-8
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 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.

My Thoughts:
One repeated word in the passage caught my attention…Knowledge.  I want everything needed for a Godly life.  I want to know about God but even more importantly I want to know God.

Definition: knowl·edge, noun 1. facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education

I found this quote by James Ray that made sense to me…”Knowledge comes from acquiring information—Knowing comes from ownership.”

Rereading the passage with particular attention to that one word I noticed that knowledge is not the end product of this passage.   It’s just a step in the process of finally getting to the real goal, love.  That’s key.  It’s not about learning enough facts to be smart about God.  That’s knowledge.  It’s all about figuring out how those facts  get worked into me so I can understand what real love is like.  That’s productive and effective knowing. That’s ownership.

That is why I read ‘n ponder.