Pursuit

2 Peter 1:1-4   Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Do you see it? Do you see the gospel, the good news in Peter’s opening statement in his letter? There in the first couple of  sentences of the hope that Christ brings; those that have responded to His calling and forsaken the sinful desires of the world. The Message puts it like this:1 I, Simon Peter, am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God’s straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2 Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. 3 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! 4 We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you – your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. Your life life before, and after, in Christ.

Look deeper into what Peter is saying there; he is speaking of the relationship that you are gaining and cultivating in Christ. His calling is to the pursuit of that relationship, to move your life closer to how He lived. It is in that whole hearted pursuit that knowledge and intimacy is found. Peter continues on the application side of that pursuit; 5 So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. 6 Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. 7 Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. 8 The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NLT)

How in the world can you claim knowledge of something you don’t pursue? How can you claim intimacy with someone with whom you spend little time? Google will not lead you down the road of understanding of Christ; that wisdom comes with a humble heart, prayerfully spending daily time in the Bible. With that pursuit is gained a wisdom and knowledge that surpass all earthly understanding. It is a wisdom of the heart, it is a wisdom that cannot understand all things, but rest in the sovereignty of God. It is a wisdom that in constant pursuit of the tidbits of revelations that are gained; priceless pieces of God opening your mind, through your heart, in His Word.