As you grow
May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2
This short prayer takes us to the heart of what it means to be a Christian. It makes it clear that Christian faith is about a relationship and, in common with every other relationship, it is dynamic. It is impossible for a relationship to stand still. It is either growing or declining, and Peter’s longing was that his readers should have a deepening relationship with God.
The problem with many people’s understanding of Christianity is that they see it in terms of membership. They belong to a church, and they have no more expectation of a growing relationship with the church than they have of a growing relationship with the National Trust, the AA or any other organisation of which they happen to be a member. But that way of understanding the Christian faith is completely different from what we see in the New Testament, which reveals a dynamic personal relationship.
Peter was speaking about a deepening of our understanding of God through living the Christian life. When Sue and I got married the way in which our relationship grew was through living together. We were given all sorts of wise advice and did some reading on the subject, but it was as we shared life together that we deepened our love and understanding of one another.
It is just the same in the Christian life. It is important to read the Bible, hear sermons, read books and listen to other people’s advice, but the fundamental need is for us to live day by day with God and deepen our relationship with him. As we do so, we receive more and more of God’s grace and peace.
QUESTION
In what specific ways has your relationship with God grown over the past year?
PRAYER
Lord God, thank you that you want to share every part of life with me. Thank you for giving me more of your grace and peace; I long for more. Amen