You Are Divinely Empowered to Love People Well
His divine power, unleashed through our dependence upon and yielding to Him, provides everything we need to live as His called, chosen, and redeemed children.
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Divinely Empowered to Love People Well
By Jennifer Slattery
Bible Reading
“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. 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” (2 Peter 1:3-4, NIV).
After one particularly discouraging family reunion during which my faults appeared to have greatly outnumbered my positive qualities, my therapist helped me regain a balanced perspective. She encouraged me to journal separately on each day of the vacation, prayerfully considering what I felt I did well and what I wish I’d done differently. This activity helped me to recognize ways in which I’d allowed my inner critic’s voice to speak louder than God’s gentle and empowering grace.
This was important because focusing on my flaws only kept me stuck. Whereas reflecting upon all I had in Christ inspired me to soul-deep transformation. Yes, I have many areas within that need growth, but I also possess the power of God, working in and through me. As today’s passage states, He has given me everything I need to live as He desires and love my people well.
Peter, a leader in the first-century church, wrote the letter from which today’s passage comes while in Rome, knowing he would likely soon die. This was during the later years of Emperor Nero’s reign, a terrifying time for Christ-followers during which they experienced intense persecution. On top of this, the people to whom Peter wrote were also suffering from strife and dissention within their faith community—when they most needed one another’s support.
Frightening and uncertain circumstances can cause us to behave in ugly ways. When our stress levels increase, our gentleness and self-control tend to decrease, when we rely solely on ourselves. But when, in the middle of chaos, we pause to connect with Christ, He fills our souls with strength, speaks words of truth, and reignites our hope. He reminds us of His precious promises, sprinkled throughout Scripture, such as His pledge to never leave us or forsake us, to work all things for our good, and to bring us a glorious future.
Intersecting Life & Faith:
We cannot love like Jesus apart from Jesus. No amount of human effort will enable us to overcome our sinful tendencies and fear-based responses. Self-reliance only distances us from our Savior, the One who died to free us from everything that corrupts who He created us to be. His divine power, unleashed through our dependence upon and yielding to Him, provides everything we need to live as His called, chosen, and redeemed children. But notice, this godliness comes through our knowledge of Him, as well. As Chuck Swindoll from Insight for Living wrote, “Our knowledge of God through His Word is the first line of defense against the conflicts that threaten to tear us apart.”
In the New Testament, we often see two different words translated as knowledge. One, eido, refers to assenting to, or coming to realize a fact, such as that the earth is round, or that two plus two equals four. The word used in today’s passage, however, epignósis in the original Greek, has the connotation of knowledge gained through personal experience, and often, in relationship. Therefore, the more we come to know Jesus, by drawing near to Him in times of trouble, allowing His gentle whisper to calm and nourish us, and grasping the unfathomable vastness of His love, the greater our godliness.
We come to know, with ever-deepening intimacy, the God who, in Exodus 33, equated His glory with His goodness.
As I consider all involved in “our knowledge of him,” as today’s passage states, I’m reminded of Romans 12:2, which tells me I am transformed by the “renewing of my mind.” This involves unlearning old, unhealthy patterns of behavior and learning to live in my new reality as a loved, empowered, and victorious child of God.
I love what Paul Tripp wrote: “… because of my relationship with Christ, I have been given a warrior Spirit that lives inside me.” That is far from a statement of defeat. To the contrary. Scripture assures us, in all things, our triggers and deeply-ingrained sins included, we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us (Rom. 8:37). I’m encouraged to know, the next family reunion, I will more consistently respond to my relatives, the most challenging included, like my Savior.
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