Fruitful or Blind

Reading: Numbers 17-20

2 Peter 1:5-9, "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins."

Have you ever been outside on a bright, sunny day? If so, you’ve probably had to squint your eyes to see something in the distance, and chances are, you were unable to see it well. This is the context of the word ‘blind’ in this passage. In the verses preceding verse 9, Peter mentions things that we need to add to our faith: virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.  When we fail to ‘put on’ the fruit of the Spirit, we no longer recognize that we once were in desperate need of someone bestowing these things upon us. It is important that although we shouldn’t dwell on our past, it should ever remind us that we were once in an ‘horrible pit’ (Psalm 40:2). David remembered where he was in verse 2 (“an horrible pit” and “the miry clay”) before he thanked God for where he was in verse 3 (“And he hath put a new song in my mouth”). We must remember where we were so that we don’t become ‘blind’ to the need of those around us. After all, that is our responsibility to man-to show them the love of Christ.  

Just for today, I will remember. I will remember the longsuffering and goodness of God and I will in turn show that to others.