His divine power has given us everything we need for life. 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
Doesn’t that sound a bit ambitious, even pretentious? What do you need for life: Wisdom for raising kids? Courage in the face of opposition? Peace under pressure? Faith in the face of tragedy? Comfort in loss? Love when you feel alone? Healing when you are wounded? Strength when you are overwhelmed?
The apostle Peter is making an extraordinary claim here: In Jesus Christ you will find everything that you need for life! This challenges the way we sometimes think about Christianity.
We sometimes view our lives like a series of compartments: Work—that’s a whole world in itself. Family—that’s a whole different world. Pleasure—that’s what I do for my own happiness. Then there’s faith—a very important part of my life. Lastly, there are my hopes and dreams.
A lot of folks in church would agree that Jesus Christ has everything we need for faith. But many are not sure that He has everything we need for life!
Think about what that means: What do you need for middle school or high school? What do you need for marriage? How about the single life? What do you need to get through your midlife crisis? What do you need for facing your later years?
That’s all part of life, and Peter says that God has given everything that we need for life through our knowledge of Christ who called us by His own glory and goodness.
How confident are you, on a scale from 1 (no confidence) to 10 (complete confidence), that in Jesus you have “everything” you need for life?
