May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness

As we by faith are seeking the Lord in steadfastness, at some point we arrive at a point where we recognize that we are more than just people pursuing moral purity, we are reaching up to feel the depth of joy in worship of the Lord.  Godliness is the pursuit of God in all things.  In every aspect of our lives, in every relationship we’re seeking God to be glorified.

If virtue includes acting in such as a way as God would act in a situation, Godliness extends to the motivations of our heart.  We are pursuing not just a moral life, but a life of worship in joy.

The pastor of my church, Matt Chandler, has given this example a few times – Even a non-Christian can enjoy a steak, and enjoy a good glass of wine, but for the Christian, there is always more joy to be found.  For us, we see that every good thing is a gift of God, and so not only are we delighting in the taste of the steak and wine, but we are rejoicing in the Giver, who designed our taste buds so that we could enjoy these things, we are rejoicing in God who has provided the meal, and we are looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb in eternity, the more perfect meal that awaits us in glory.  The capacity of a Christian for joy far exceeds the non-Christian.

So it is with Godliness.  We seek to bring God to the forefront of our work, our marriages, our friendships, our finances, so that in all things we are seeking the glory of God with joy.

My encouragement to you today, is to begin to practice Godliness.  I say begin, because for many Christians, this is not already a pattern of your life.  Bring God into situations as often as possible, with your greater intimacy and joy with Him as a goal in view.  In so doing, you will strengthen your own faith, not out of compulsion, but joy.

Grace and Peace,

Adam