I have a friend who is a very spiritual person. In fact, her greatest desire is to be certain that I, too, walk the same path of faith that she walks. She frequently sends me literature in the mail or stops by my house with a packet of inspirational material from her church. From time to time, we have engaged in lengthy discussions about life and about faith. But, inevitably, we come to an impasse and for only one reason: I have purposed to hold every teaching up to the entire counsel of God as found in His Word, the Bible, and she has not. She believes that the Bible is helpful and that parts of it, at least the parts sanctioned by her own church, are profitable. However, every single discussion we have had about the Lord and about living as a believer in Jesus Christ comes back to the place that God’s Word takes in our lives. If we are to become growing, faithful followers of Jesus, we must begin by having faith in Christ alone for our salvation, knowing that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
One of my favorite passages of God’s Word that instructs believers in how to have fruitful spiritual lives is 2 Peter 1:2-10. This is what it says:
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 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, 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.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”
My first response to these verses is one of great hope. They were written by Peter, the disciple who, so many, many times, failed in his walk with Christ, even to the point of denying him. Peter often acted rashly and was forever needing to come back to Jesus, seeking forgiveness in repentance. How encouraging it is for me to know that such wonderful words from God were penned by the disciple whose life was like my own, given to disobedience and faithlessness!
Peter begins by telling us that grace and peace will be given to us in large measure through knowing God and Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. And not only that, but it is given to us for all things. Isn’t that an amazing thought, that God has granted us the ability to bear fruit in all areas of our lives? We do not have to live in, as John Bunyan called it, the “slough of despair.” God gives us everything we need for life and godliness!
Peter goes on to tell us that to this glorious gift of faith, we are to add virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love. This looks like a list that will take a life time to achieve and that is because it will! Because we live in human bodies, in a fallen world, and continually battle a sin nature, we sometimes ride the receding tide of an advancing wave. In other words, we might take a step back before we take several steps forward. But in the end we have the promise of God that He will bring us to completion.
As I look at that list, I know, first hand, some of the very temptations that homeschooling moms are prone to have that keep us from growing spiritually. We become too busy to study the Bible in depth. It becomes easier to simply depend on the pastor, church elders, a great radio teacher, or your husband to do the studying and explaining of Scripture. But Paul commended the Bereans for their self-study. Each of us must find some time to read the Bible, to learn how to use a Strong’s concordance or any number of online Bible study tools. (One of my favorites is www.crosswalk.com.) God’s desire is to work in your heart individually and we must remember that Scripture tells us that all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Perhaps you feel that you are too busy with housework and homeschooling to set aside time for individual study. Do you remember the story of Mary and Martha? Martha was miffed at Mary for spending so much time at Jesus’ feet while she did all the kitchen chores. But Jesus reprimanded Martha, telling her that Mary “chose the better part.”
Maintaining self-control is also a challenge, I believe, for moms, and one continual challenge is dealing with our own bodies. We struggle with hormones that fluctuate up and down and all around from month to month, pregnancy to pregnancy, all in between, and, as I am now finding, to the end of the age! The result is that we desire to do the right thing, to live godly lives, but somehow fall back into saying things we don’t mean to say or doing things that cause pain and hurt to our husband or children. But remember this: God knows our weaknesses and still His desire is to protect us and bring us through these trials. Isaiah 43:1-2 contains this amazing promise: “But now, this is what the Lord says, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel. Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze.” Could that passage also be talking about hot flashes, I wonder?
I also know that there is comfort in food and lack of self-control in this area can be a real concern. Regular exercise and healthy eating choices (“Oh great!” you say, “and just when she gave us such yummy recipes!”) give us a positive outlook and help us maintain a good attitude.
Peter continues to admonish us to be steadfast. The word translated in the Greek from this passage is “hupomone” and it literally means a cheerful, hopeful, constant patience. A very real part of spiritual growth is trusting that God, in His sovereignty, has only one plan for our lives, there is only a plan A, no plan B. We are to be continually trusting in this truth, remaining hopeful and cheerful in all that we do.
A while back I heard an awesome sermon about ”hupomone” where the pastor tells this story. A farmer had a mule who became old and useless to him. Rather than kill the animal outright, the farmer decided to dump the animal into an old abandoned well. With each shovel full of dirt that landed on that old mule, the mule said to himself, “Shake it off and step up.” What great advice for us on days when we are discouraged!
For a homeschooling mom, I cannot stress how important it is to remain steadfast because we set the tone for the entire family! I will just briefly list a few things that help to keep us steadfast: regular worship at home and with other believers, staying in the Word, avoiding friends, relatives, or online sources such as blogs that weigh you down, criticize you, or offer unattainable goals for your life, reading inspirational writings, such as biographies, and listening to music that causes you to praise God rather than concentrate on yourself.
Peter also tells us that brotherly affection and love are to be goals that we have as we grow spiritually. Love is not an emotion or a feeling; it is an act of the will. But as we purpose to put others before ourselves, an amazing thing happens. We begin to feel love for that person. Deliberately doing loving and kind things for others, praying for others, and setting aside our personal rights in deference to another will all result in feelings of tenderness, compassion, and goodwill toward them.
Peter concludes by telling us that if we do not have these spiritual qualities, we are spiritually blind and in need of spiritual healing. John Newton, author of the hymn Amazing Grace, had experienced a horrific life as a slave trader until God miraculously reached down and touched his heart. “I once was blind but now I see” were the words Newton used to describe the work of Jesus Christ in his life. Let this be said of homeschooling moms who are purposing to walk lives of faith, bringing glory to God and a testimony of grace to our children.
“If you lack assurance of God’s love and of your own salvation, take heed that you do not say, I shall never be assured; take heed you do not say, I shall haver have a promise; take heed you do not say, I shall never have the testimony of the Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God. Do not say, thus, I shall never be helped; I am in a sad condition, and I shall never be better; I am in an uncomfortable condition, and I shall never be comforted; I lack assurance, and I shall never have assurance. Beloved, this you cannot say, for who knows what God will do? His ways are in the deep, and His footsteps are not known.” William Bridge
Next we will look at the topic of husbands and wives growing in grace together.
Copyright 2007
