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Writer's pictureBarry L. Taylor

A MESSAGE FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 2021: “GROW: Patiently Endure"

Grace and peace to you in the name of Lord Jesus Christ.


Hear the Word of God, from 2 Peter 1.5-8:


5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.


The news is good this week: the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020-21 appears to be subsiding. The worst of it may indeed be over.


Vaccinations are becoming more readily available. In fact, I receive my first dose of the Moderna vaccine this past week; my second dose is scheduled for Good Friday, just in time for this year’s celebration of Easter.


It seems somehow appropriate.


This past year simply seemed to be one long endurance test. It’s as if the last 12 months has been an extended season of Lent, with its emphasis on taking up the cross and self-denial. If ever we have needed to celebration the resurrection of Jesus and claim His promise that, because He lives, we shall live also, it’s Easter 2021!


It is true that, at times, life can feel like an extended test of our endurance. It is little wonder therefore that Peter urges us in our Scripture text to supplement our faith with “patient endurance.” It’s something we all need.


I find it interesting, however, that Peter first urges us to supplement our faith with 1) knowledge, and then add 2) self-control to our knowledge, before getting our spiritual “booster shot” of “patient endurance.”


Consider this…


“Knowledge,” as Peter understands it in our text, is “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” As Grant Osbornes writes concerning this passage, “This is not philosophical or intellectual knowledge of facts but a combination of personal ‘knowledge’ of Christ gained at conversion with ‘knowing’ God and His will in daily life. Thus, the emphasis is not on content but on practical Christian living.”


I had a conversation this past week with someone who grew up in the small community in which I attended elementary school. She asked if I remembered several individuals with whom she was related; in most cases, I was able to say, “I didn’t know them personally, but I knew OF them.” In other words, I was aware of them and had could recall some information about them, but I didn’t have an actual relationship with them. I couldn’t attest to personal knowledge of them…which, needless to say, limited the conversation. This is why so many preachers have emphasized through the years that we need a “personal relationship” with Jesus. Knowledge of Jesus that is limited to a set of memorized biographical facts and mental assent to a set of theological propositions about Him is simply not Biblical knowledge of Jesus; we are not to simply know OF Him, but to KNOW Him by following Him as Savior and Lord in faith. It is this kind of “knowing Jesus” that transforms everyday life and allows us to experience…


“Self-control.” The term in the original New Testament Greek is “egkrateia,” which is formed from two words that mean “in the sphere of” and “dominion.” The term literally means “dominion (or rule/mastery) from within.” Self-control, therefore, is not necessarily being able to control oneself; rather, it is the reality that control over oneself is not from exterior forces or circumstances, but rather that control comes from a source within ourselves. “Dominion within” means that there is a King who exercises power from within us that ultimately controls how we live “on the outside.” As John puts it in his first New Testament letter, “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4.4). John is pointing out the central truth about practical daily living: we can only exercise control over our lives when we have surrendered that control to Jesus. I know that a popular automobile bumper-sticker used to feature the driver’s proclamation that “Jesus is My Co-Pilot,” but, in reality, Jesus as our co-pilot doesn’t result in self-control; Jesus as our sole Pilot means He is in control…and our lives are then truly “under control,” no matter what the world throws at us. Only then can we really experience…


“Patient endurance.” The term in the original New Testament Greek is “hupomone,” which is also a combination of two words: “under” and “remain.” Properly, it means “remain under” as in remaining under a burden one is carrying on one’s head, shoulders, or back until the task is finished. Osborne writes:


“This virtue was prized in athletic contests (marathon races) and in war (marching over difficult terrain), and both of these areas are metaphors for the Christian life. The term means not only bearing up in the midst of hardship but also remaining resolute or steadfast in life in general. Peter does not have in mind, however, endurance in the midst of persecution…but rather moral endurance amid the pressures of temptation. The importance of this virtue is evident.”


Experiencing the upheaval of daily life caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic has certainly felt like running a marathon race over difficult terrain. It’s called for endurance…but life always calls for endurance. “Moral endurance amid the pressures of temptation” is always a challenge, but it’s a challenge that become a victory when we 1) have a personal relationship with Jesus as Savior…when we KNOW Him rather than simply know OF Him and experience the reality of forgiveness of sin, and when we 2) surrender control of our lives to Jesus as Lord…when we experience a “dominion within” that keeps us “controlled without.”


Easter is going to be special this year…but Easter can be more special than we can ever imagine EVERY year if we know Jesus as Savior and surrender to Him as Lord. After a year of seemingly-never-ending-Lent, why not use this Lent of 2021 to experience for ourselves the wonder of having Someone at work within us who is greater than anyone else or anything else at work in the world?


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.


Amen.

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