Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Accessing Our Superpowers
2 Peter 1:5-11
“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”
1 Peter 1:8
“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”
1 Peter 1:8
My family and I recently watched the 2012 version of Spiderman. You must know the premise – a regular, smart, genuinely nice and slightly awkward high-school teen gets bitten by a mutant spider and suddenly has all sorts of powers. He can shoot webs from his wrists, climb the side of buildings with his sticky fingers, and can swing from building to building. He still has to practice and experiment to figure out his new powers, but pretty soon, he combines his genuinely nice nature with his new powers and becomes a HERO – saving thousands! These movies leave you wondering what you would do if you suddenly had superhuman powers – would you keep living a regular life? Or embrace your powers and become a HERO?
Our passage 2 Peter 1: 1-5 talks about just that. If we have a relationship with Jesus, then Peter reminds us that Jesus’s “divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…” To put it in Spiderman terms, we have been bitten by the spider! WE now have access to divine power and divine nature in Jesus. What powers? The list includes goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love!
When we consider any opportunity – which career to choose, which school or job to take or even apply for, which summer activity to be a part of, which roles we might take in our church or community – often we only consider our own personal strengths and weaknesses. Am I good enough, strong enough, caring enough, knowledgeable enough to do this? But don’t forget to take into account the divine nature you have access to. You really can ask God for these superpowers. In fact, Peter urges us to! “Make every effort to add to your faith… For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What strengths do we need to ask God for and put on today? Go back to this arsenal of superpowers: goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love – and ask God to help you put on what you need, to be available for His heroic purposes today!
Our passage 2 Peter 1: 1-5 talks about just that. If we have a relationship with Jesus, then Peter reminds us that Jesus’s “divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…” To put it in Spiderman terms, we have been bitten by the spider! WE now have access to divine power and divine nature in Jesus. What powers? The list includes goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love!
When we consider any opportunity – which career to choose, which school or job to take or even apply for, which summer activity to be a part of, which roles we might take in our church or community – often we only consider our own personal strengths and weaknesses. Am I good enough, strong enough, caring enough, knowledgeable enough to do this? But don’t forget to take into account the divine nature you have access to. You really can ask God for these superpowers. In fact, Peter urges us to! “Make every effort to add to your faith… For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What strengths do we need to ask God for and put on today? Go back to this arsenal of superpowers: goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love – and ask God to help you put on what you need, to be available for His heroic purposes today!
Prayer
Thank you Lord, for Your kindness and generosity to our world. I want to be available to You; please strengthen me with all these gifts so I can be effective and productive where You place me today.
Dr. Betsy Mathew
Epiphany Mar Thoma Church, New York
Epiphany Mar Thoma Church, New York