A Partakeer
2 Peter 1:4 TLV
partake
pär-tāk′
intransitive verb
- To take or have a part or share; participate.
- To take or be given part or portion.
- To share some of the properties of something else.
If someone were to give me advice while on their deathbed, would I take it more seriously? Would I listen more intently, maybe even write it down or record it? Would it be burned into my memory, never to be forgotten? That’s kind of what I’m seeing here. While Peter isn’t taking his last breath as he writes, he is convinced he doesn’t have much time. Somehow, Jesus made it known to him that his time was drawing to a close. That reality made me think. If I was dying, what would be important enough to let it consume me? Would I be worried about people not liking me? Would I be concerned that my bank account or house wasn’t like someone else’s? I mean, I suppose I might care, but somehow, I don’t think that’s what would dominate my thoughts.
Peter was facing execution. I’m not sure if he knew that part when he wrote this, but the political and social climates might have suggested it. Knowing what he knew, it was absolutely essential that he spend his last moments warning me not to put it off, but put what off? I know from verse 4 that I have been given access to the divine nature of God. I’m told that everything that goes into a life of pleasing God is miraculously mine. Injected, somehow, into my very soul. I have the ability to walk in such a way that I please God. It’s already inside me. I don’t need anything else. In fact, Peter claims that part of my inheritance is to have 24/7 access to the Divine Nature of God. Noice!
My problem? I have this uncanny ability to get so wrapped up in myself that I forget why I was given this access. Life becomes all about me and my focus is on the fact that I’m bleeding out. Verse 8 tells me that the more I grow in the things of Christ the more useful I will be, and I will never fail. The caveat here, is that if I don’t grow in this way, I’ll be short-sighted and blind, forgetting that I have been cleansed and redeemed.
I’m given choices along the way. I can choose what I’m going to focus on. I can be angry and bitter and react out of pain and hatred or I can choose to focus on Christ’s love for me, what He’s given me and how best to love the unlovable. Admittedly that might best be accomplished from a distance, but if I’m plugged into Him, I’ll know what to do or not do. Say or not say.
Today, let my focus be narrowed to the love of Christ and Him crucified for me.