⁵Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, ⁶and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, ⁷and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Continued pursuit of spiritual maturity is a high priority in the Christian life. We can describe spiritual maturity in various ways, like becoming more Christlike, progressive sanctification, or growing in Christ. Various portions of Scripture can guide us, like 1 Corinthians 13:1–7, 1 Timothy 3:2–7, and Titus 1:3–9. Many preachers are fond of listing “key” steps for successful Christian living. Lists are helpful if we realize they are not exhaustive, and we avoid thinking any one list is “the” definitive formula. Each has its place.

This list in 2 Peter contains poignant steps for continued spiritual development in the context of suffering. We need to see the difficulties we all go through not as challenges to our faith, but as opportunities to grow our faith. So Peter tells us to diligently take ownership of the process by adding to our faith moral changes to our behavior.

But then we need knowledge to guide our changes, lest we become fanatical, unbalanced, or legalistic in our morality, like the overly scrupulous Pharisees, who demanded that others adhere to their smallest dissection of moral or spiritual behavior. Peter is not pharisaical but speaks in generalities. His thrust is that our pursuit of true spiritual knowledge will keep us on track.

Self-control helps us implement the moral changes in our life as we grow in knowledge. After all, morality and the understanding of how to behave requires willpower to control the impulses of self-centered inertia, because the pull to narcissism is always with us.

Perseverance is what keeps us going on the right track. It is one thing to behave with moral intelligence and good self-control—for a moment or a day. But Christian maturity strives for continued self-control through time.

Godliness is the desire to resemble God. A few verses earlier, Peter wrote that God has given us everything “pertaining to life and godliness,” but we must pursue it. It doesn’t just fall on us like angel dust from heaven. As Paul wrote, it is our responsibility to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25 ESV).

The end goal of this progression, as always, is to love others, first brotherly kindness (philadelphia) and then love (agape, see also Matt. 22:36–40, 1 Cor. 13:13, 2 Tim. 1:5). Amid difficult times, we believers have the opportunity to pursue the most significant expression of the spiritual life. Let’s do it!

Lord, I am committed to pursuing what You freely give to me – Love.