Tag Archives: Growth

2 Peter 1:5-7 “ NIV
…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:

There is something satisfying about reading Peter’s orderly list of what is needed in my life of faith. It made me think of a jigsaw puzzle; one piece locking into another, each separate but together creating an “all together” whole.  It’s a new puzzle and all the pieces are guaranteed to be there, laid out and waiting to be used.  It’s a personal puzzle, only you can complete it.

The way to begin is to find the pieces that you recognize to form a workable frame.  There may be a few gaps but don’t worry, it will still work.  You just start looking for pieces that match and build on what you started with.  Sometimes it doesn’t come easy though.  It may take a bit of time and hunting to find just one match.  It’s really easy to get sidetracked by that and walk away for a time.  At other times with almost no effort just the right piece turns up and it’s a perfect fit.  Eventually you begin to see the image of what’s to come and that gives you some inspiration.  Speed isn’t required to complete the puzzle but perseverance is essential if you want to complete The Big Picture.