12/17/07 - Life Journal - Be All That You Can Be

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8

Peter here is listing what he believes are characteristics that must be added to your faith to be the best possible witness for Him that you can be. Personal faith alone saves you alone but like James said it is dead. It goes no further from you. Adding these on top of your faith will let it overflow to those around you and increase His kingdom.

I read these as having to be accomplished in this order, or if order is not completely necessary, Virtue MUST be first. Merriam-Webster defines virtue as:

virtue: noun: Conformity to a standard of right, or morality.
None of the others will matter if people see you as having no integrity, no morals or in other words being virtue-LESS. This quality will draw others to you before they even know, or in spite of the fact that they know, that you are a Christ follower. Then a relationship can be formed and the other qualities can manifest themselves leading people to thirst for whatever it is you have. I personally feel that knowledge is my strong suit but I am lacking in my virtue. No one will hear my knowledge if they don't want to be around me in the first place. To be used fully by Him I have to do some personal rearranging!

Lord, fill me with your love. Only through this can I become a virtuous man of God.