2 Peter 1:9-15

COMMENTS

Do you ever find it easy to get distracted?  When I was growing up, I would often hear this phrase:  “He can’t see the forest for the trees.”  The meaning, of course, was that the person was so wrapped up in the small details that he couldn’t see the big picture.  It’s easy to allow the “urgent”—those things that need immediate attention—to distract us from the “important”—the things that really matter.

NOTES

Peter, I think, is saying something like that to his audience.  He says that if a believer isn’t growing in the qualities mentioned in verses 5-7 (faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love), he is “nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins” (v. 9).  Whoa!  That’s harsh!  Or is it?  As a Christ-follower, if I’m not focused on growing as a Christian, I’m “nearsighted and blind”.  In other words, I’m focused on the trees and have lost sight of the forest.  And when I remember the great price Jesus paid to cleanse me from my sins, I am not as easily distracted.

[NOTE:  I love the endearing way he addresses those to whom he writes this letter (that includes you and me).  He personalizes what he says by injecting “my brothers” (and sisters, I’m sure!).  He cares deeply about his readers—cares enough to tell them the hard things because he wants the best for them.]

As humans, we do our best when there’s a reward for doing it.  If you study hard, you get a good grade.  If you work hard, you get a raise.  If you exercise hard, you get thinner or stronger.  God knows that, and Peter knows that.  So what is our reward for diligently pursuing godliness?  We will never “fall” (v. 10), and we will “receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 11).  Certainly a reward worth working for!

Friends, this reward is so incredible that we should be “eager” (v. 10) to do everything we can to be sure we’re standing on solid ground.  When we make living the Christian life and developing Christ-like qualities our focus and purpose, we are living a “forest” life, not a “tree” life. 

In verses 12-15, Peter acknowledges that his readers know all of this and that they are “firmly established in the truth [they] now have” (v. 12).  “The truth [they] now have”.  That says two things to me:  (1) At this point in time, they have some truth, and (2) if they pursue it, they will receive more truth.  Knowing and growing in this truth is important enough that Peter promises that he will “always remind” (v. 12) them and that he will “make every effort to see that…[they] will always be able to remember these things” (v. 15).  Those words apply to us as well. 

Have you noticed how often in this passage Peter has used some form of the terms “remember” and “forget”?  Verse 9:  forgotten.  Verse 12:  remind.  Verse 12:  know.  Verse 13:  refresh your memory.  Verse 15:  remember.  Obviously, remembering is important!  Remembering whose we are….  Remembering the truth we know….  Remembering what’s important….

Peter wanted believers to be firmly established and solidly grounded in truth.  How can we accomplish that?  “Through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (v. 3).  There is no other way.