Next Level Up

Nº 321

September 24, 2024

A law of the spiritual life that the further you go, the more you are aware of the distance still to be covered. Your growing desire for God makes you increasingly conscious, not so much of where you are in your relationship with Him as of where as yet you are not. - J.I. Packer

I don’t know much about video games, but the attraction seems to be tied to level upon level of successful accomplishment.

The Apostle Peter never played a video game, but he knew a little about levels of accomplishment. He wrote, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to your goodness, knowledge; and to your knowledge, self-control; and to your self-control, perseverance; and to your perseverance, godliness; and to your godliness, brotherly kindness; and to your brotherly kindness, love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Peter’s stairway guides us, level by level, to where God wants us to be. Goodness (moral excellence) is foundational. We need solid biblical knowledge. We need both self-control and perseverance to help us avoid harmful activities and to keep us doing things that are significant. We need godliness, a life that worships well. We need the friendships of brotherly kindness. And ultimately, we need committed love.

Fortunately, the Christian life allows us to work on several levels of growth simultaneously. Wherever you are on the stairway of faith, go to the next level; keep striving upward. Unlike video games, these qualities “will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive...” (2 Peter 1:8)

Excelsior,

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries