Grace Enabled Fellowship

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Scripture:

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.

Observation:

The mystery of discipleship is God’s grace and empowerment. God’s incomprehensible love for humanity is experienced in the sending of his son. Jesus’ very life becomes one of grace in which the corruption of humanity is again made holy by his divine presence. As a result, grace is extended to all of humanity and God’s divine power provides all that is necessary for life and godliness.

There is hope that humanity can live a godly life because of the presence of Jesus Christ and it is through his life, death and resurrection that we are provided with the opportunity for grace enabled fellowship with the Triune God. It is this grace enabled fellowship that allows us to become participants of the divine nature.

Application:

Too often we get things out of order and we somehow forget about the grace of God which extends to us a welcoming hand of hospitality into participation with the divine nature. What does this mean for us? We somehow believe that we are to be participating in God’s mission in the world without taking the time to know God!

Godliness does not come from our own ability to work hard! Godliness only comes from spending time and getting to know God. Everything that we need comes from knowing God in Christ and if we don’t begin there, we will not be capable of living the life that God desires for his children. Neither will we be able to escape the corruption that inevitably comes from living life in the flesh. We simply won’t be able to overcome temptations on our own! Knowledge of Christ comes through our daily encounters with him as we fellowship with our holy God. If we don’t take time to slow down and enjoy grace enabled fellowship our work “for” God will be in vain.

Beware of engaging in busyness for the sake of the kingdom without first knowing Christ. If knowing Christ does not become a priority in our daily lives we will burn out for we do not have enough strength or energy to be doing this on our own.

As we begin this journey into advent we anticipate the arrival of the Christ-child and all that he will bring to us and to our lives. It is the grace of God that goes before, even in this season of Advent that draws us into fellowship with him. Let’s not become so distracted by the events of the Christmas season that we miss out on the grace of God which draws us into greater fellowship with Christ both now and forever.

Prayer:

Lord, may I slow down enough to enjoy the power of your presence. Amen.


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