Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Character
- Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person. It is hearing from God and obeying. It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.
As we might
expect from a book that has had such a great emphasis on obedience, we end with
two strong chapters on character. When I
say strong chapters, I also inherently mean challenging chapters. There are many things in these chapters that
sound great. Ye each thing of greatness
is also a thing of challenge and difficulty to accomplish.
For
example, Peter encourages us to put aside the time in our life where we are
thinking about ourselves and simply responding to our emotions. He tells us to be a people whose character is
about self-control and sober-minded thinking.
We are to show love often, which is easier said than done. We are to be hospitable without
grumbling. We are to suffer without
being ashamed. We are to lead through the
willingness of invitation instead of compulsion. We are to be humble.
Each of
those things are great things. Each item
in the list above are things that if we had a mentor in life we would want the
mentor to possess. However, we know the
difficulty faced by always remembering to be in control, showing love, being
hospitable, or not grumbling. The
character traits that Peter lists here are excellent traits. But they are not traits that come naturally
or easily within us.
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