“And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” II Peter 1:7
Charity: the act of giving money, food, or other kinds of help to people who are poor, sick, etc. This is the most common description of this word, but St. Paul’s classical description of charity is found in I Corinthians 13. In Christian theology and ethics, “charity” translates as “love” and is shown in the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ. He gave us the greatest example of love when He died on the cross to redeem us from sin.
Most of us are familiar with the attributes of love: longsuffering, kindness, lack of envy, not proud, doesn’t seek his own good, etc. It is truly a picture of how Jesus lived and the ideal way to live that He desires for us.
Over the last few days we have climbed the steps toward being what the Lord desires. Of course, none of us have reached perfection, but we will visit them time and time again, striving to do better. I hope we all have achieved a passing grade, but the biggest reward for working on these attributes is expressed in Verse 8 of II Peter 1: “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.”
I hope you have enjoyed this simple Bible study as much as I have. It has had me searching my heart and asking the Lord to help me become more and more like Him. I want to be everything He desires me to be, and to be a blessing to others.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for your Word and for the instructions you have given us to live by. Draw us ever closer to you and to each other.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
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