Gift Of Godliness

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3

HOW DO YOU measure godliness in your life? Justine has a list:

• Serve at the soup kitchen—check.
• Read my Bible—check.
• Go to church—check.
• Go to Bible study—check.
• Give donation to the mission organization—check.

Justine feels that doing all these things is proof that she’s godly.

All the things on Justine’s list are great activities that help her grow closer to God and others. But do they really make her godly?

According to the Scripture verse above, godliness does not begin with what we do but with who we are. In this verse, God lets us know that he’s taken care of everything we need to be godly people. We don’t incorporate godliness on our own. We’re godly because we belong to him. The better we know him, the more like God we become. It’s a promise that depends on what he’s done—not on what we do to try to please him.

In fact, when we stress and strive to achieve godliness, in a sense we’re trying to work hard enough to earn what God has already given us. Devotion and good deeds will flow from the fact that in him we are already godly.

As we rest in our relationship with him, his grace empowers us to do the things that please him. He’s promised that he’s already provided what we need to be like him. As we trust that promise, the process will not be a duty or an ordeal but a privilege and a joy.