abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Although it may be hard to picture ourselves
becoming blinded by the love of money, we do
well to note that anxiety in this time of mate-
rial things, and the deceptive power of riches
can choke the word of God (Matthew 13:22).
Waiting patiently and in peace: Emphasizing
the importance of maintaining a waiting
attitude; Peter says: “Dear friends, since you
are looking forward to this, make every effort
to be found spotless, blameless and at peace
with him” (3:14). This
means to be found by God
individually cleansed in
Jesus’ precious blood
(Revelation 7:9,14). This
requires having a good
knowledge of the gospel,
exercising faith in Christ
and becoming a baptised
and dedicated child of
God. Peter also says that
we are to be found
unblemished in the same
way, as Paul exhorted
Christians: “Do everything
so that you can become
blameless and pure, chil-
dren of God without fault
in a crooked and depraved
generation, in which you
shine like stars in the
universe” (Philippians 2:14-
15). With this in mind, we
will be moved by love for
God and our neighbours as we preach the good
news of the kingdom (Matthew 2:35-40;
24:14).
Finally, Peter tells us to be found in peace. He
emphasizes the importance of having intense
love for one another and maintaining peace
with our fellow believers (1 Peter 2:17; 3:10-
11; 4:8; 2 Peter 1:5-7). Then, our expectation
of living in the new peaceful world will be
reflected in our pursuit of peace with our
fellow-worshippers now. It will show that we
have a waiting attitude and are keeping close
in mind the presence of the day of our Lord.
27
of the world are steadily deteriorating. There
will be terrible times in the last days. People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to
parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God, having a form of godliness but
denying its power. Have nothing to do with
them … Evil men and imposters will go from
bad to worse (2 Timothy 3:1-5,13). We need
to take positive action to correct matters in
order to please God.
Deeds of godly devotion:
Godly actions and godly
devotion are also vital if
we are to keep the Lord’s
day in mind. Godly devo-
tion means a reverence for
God that moves us to do
what is pleasing in His
eyes. Loyal attachment to
God is the motivating force
behind such deeds of godly
devotion. For it is His will
that “All men should be
saved and come to a
knowledge of the truth” (1
Timothy 2:4). God does not
desire anyone to perish,
but for everyone to come
to repentance (2 Peter
3:9). So then, should not
our godly devotion stimu-
late us to intensify our
efforts to help people learn about God and
imitate Him? This means not only actively
telling people about our hope, but setting a
godly example in our lives. “Be imitators of
God, therefore, as dearly beloved children
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us”
(Ephesians 5:1).
Our life will abound with all kinds of godly
devotion if we seek God’s kingdom first
(Matthew 6:33). This involves having a ba-
lanced view of material things. Jesus warned,
“Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds
of greed. A man’s life does not consist in the
A Waiting Attitude
Finally, says Peter,
“Be ye all of one mind,
having compassion one of
another; love as brethren,
be pitiful, be courteous:
not rendering evil for evil,
or railing for railing;
but contrariwise blessing.”
The sons of God answer
to this character.
Unity, compassion, love,
prevail among them
- even now.
Bro Robert Roberts
Godly Character