A Worthy Walk

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

That is good news to me this week because I long to GLORY!

Because He has lavished such love on me; because He has taken my dead spirit and awakened it and redeemed it toward Eternity; because He has looked upon my rebelliously independent, selfish, unapologetically arrogant, murderous, filthy, self-centered soul and said, “You are forgiven; believe on Me.”

How can I be silent about a God like that? How can I hold back delighting in the gifts of Godly wisdom and understanding that come by way of His Holy Spirit in me as I read His Holy Word? How can I stage false humility to exalt myself in piety – at the Lord’s expense?

It is not prideful for me to rest confidently in the Lord. It is not arrogant to learn and know and proclaim, “Thus saith the Lord…” He is not a God of ambivalence, or a God of “many ways.” And He most certainly is not the God of confusion or disorder.

I remember well, who I was before He drew me to His Son.

I had no wisdom; all that I thought I knew was borne out of the instinct for self-preservation, and was usually at the expense of someone else.

I had no might; all my strength was empty argument, and all my ability was half-baked or burned as stubble.

I had no riches; I had no regard for wealth of any sort – I lived in the moment, eager for instant gratification and was never, every truly content.

My study of the Peter epistles led me this week to a chain of virtues in 2Peter 1:5-7 that I have heard dozens of times, but never stopped to consider:

And beside this, giving all diligence,

add to your faith virtue;

and to virtue knowledge;

And to knowledge temperance;

and to temperance patience;

and to patience godliness;

And to godliness brotherly kindness;

and to brotherly kindness charity.

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For some saved-by-grace Christians, the suggestion that there is something to be added to faith might seem heretical, but there it is, right there, in black and white -- in His Word. Of course, looking more closely, I find that this passage is not suggesting that salvation can be earned or added to, but certainly the subsequent, worthy walk can, and should be!

My study question asked me to list the virtues in these verses, what they meant, their importance, and any other aspect that I noted as I meditated on this chain. It was a great question and I am blessed by what the Lord taught me through it.

The first thing I notice is that diligence is a start. Not half-hearted diligence or occasional diligence, but all diligence (emphasis mine). It is not an unGodly work or a "filthy rag" to act diligently. Through this discipline of "all diligence," I am to add virtue – or goodness – to the faith that God, Himself, imparted to me a decade ago. So, it is not an act of legalism to choose to be good! Let the nay-sayers keep quiet.

After I have invited goodness into my life and my walk, I may then add to it: knowledge. I gain knowledge by being in His Word, meditating on His Word, or hearing It preached -- daily. I reject the idea that there is one better way than another to accomplish this, but the principle stands that we must collect His Manna daily; we are not to horde it from Sunday to Sunday. Proverbs 9:10 tells me that, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Next, I can build temperance onto what I learn about Him and His precepts, and choose to avoid the unGodly temptations of the flesh. Common sense tells me what is not good for His temple, but I also believe that it is the responsibility of each child of God to be thorough and honest in self-examination. Personally, I avoid certain music and certain measures of vanity because each tends to stir in me a desire to return to the former lust of when I walked in ignorance.

Once I’ve adopted a dedication to self-control, it would be very easy to slip into a place of pride. I really appreciated that the next virtue in the chain was patience. When I thought about the times that I have acted impatiently – whether over small moments with the children, or bigger offenses with others – I realized that each instance could be traced to pride!

Once I have taken pride captive to patience, I may look forward to adding Godliness to my walk. I found it telling that Godliness is quite a ways from faith. So many times have I tried to add Godliness to faith right NOW! Usually, it took the form of legalism: the modest clothing that was actually more for show than for cover, the pious speech, the academic pursuit, and worst of all: the rejection of my own personality! I was literally trying to become someone else. Someone with a “quiet spirit,” which I now understand has nothing to do with the volume of their personality, but everything to do with their abiding trust in the Lord.

As I thought more about what is Godliness, I came to a thread of thought that was all about a compassionate heart for those who are yet weak and hurting – even if they are acting wickedly. They have unwittingly yielded themselves to the works of the Enemy, this is true -- but that is what Jesus came for, isn’t it? To save the sick. To bind their wounds. To defeat Satan and Death and Hell. He did for me, and He will for all His children.

To Godliness, I will add brotherly love. A brother’s love is ever present, reliable, loyal, practical. With the other virtues in place, I trust the Lord will find a use for me in ministering to the needs of others.

And finally, the passage arrives at the high calling of charity, or more easily stated: love. Love is the single most wonderful witness we can hope the Lost will see in us. Jesus said that we would be recognized as His, if we love one another. Love is more than a word, and more than an action. I believe Love is not something I can just decide to do, but rather, is something I must pursue through Godly living. I've come to realize that love is an evidence, not something I muster or merely speak about. Love is a desire of the heart that only He can give as I delight myself in Him.

Many a Christian Sister will shirk the idea of disciplining her Walk. She will throw around words like “legalism,” and “works-based,” and “oppressive,” to cover her own ignorance or rebellion, as the case may be, but I would respond that God’s grace is not to be presumed upon.

God’s grace is to cover our inadequacy – our sinfulness. It is useful to Him in directing everything according to His plan. But I am humbled. I am grieved for my need of it, because my need for His grace is not cheap. My sin did not vanish into thin air when Jesus went to the cross; my sin did not simply dissipate. It was transferred; it was paid for -- in full. And it was costly.

It was so costly to the One who only ever loved me, and saved me while I was in the midst of acting as His enemy.