… ¹⁸but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

This is one of those verses easy to gloss over as superfluous religious terminology having little to do with the everyday life most of us live. Isn’t it something only super-spiritual people say, like monks, who spend most of their time thinking about otherworldly things? Yet, this quote comes from a blue-collar worker, a down-to-earth, hands-on kind of guy named Peter (whom we know, of course, as an apostle). Like others of Jesus’ earliest and closest followers, he was a real man, not a mystic; a fisherman, not a fanatic; manly, not a monk; rough and ready, not religious; active and not ascetic.

Peter did not use flowery words or pleasant platitudes but spoke his mind in understandable and concrete terms. So, what did he mean by the phrase “grow in grace?” I remember a missionary with many treks under his belt into the tribal villages in the mountains of Colombia, South America. Carl Lehmann was home on furlough and preached on this verse. His message burned into my mind and heart, “You will spend the rest of your life learning what this verse means, to grow in grace.” Some 40 years later, I am still unpacking it and applying it to my life!

Here are thoughts I have had over the years, some picked up from others, some settling in over time. The first, hinted above, is that this verse is just a customary salutation, like, “Have a good day.” Peter had already laid out the meaty stuff and he wrapped up his letter with a religious platitude, not really to be studied or dwelt upon. It is a tip of the hat to Jesus Christ, similar to how we commonly end our prayers, “In Jesus’ Name.” We accept this phrase as a conventional Christian ending to prayer.

The second way of seeing this passage adds a bit of substance: we should all become nicer people as we get along in life. That is indeed true; learning more about Jesus should make us nicer people to live with. But I find it hard to imagine that is all Peter meant at the closing of his written ministry, which we know now to be inspired and accepted as part of the canon of Scripture.

Third, the apostle may be saying that we should take our niceness to a higher level by becoming more gracious to others. Indeed, we should become nicer as we grow spiritually, which is abundantly taught in the New Testament, especially in the apostle Paul’s writings. To act graciously toward others is not to keep score of how they treat us; instead, we show them more consideration than they show us. Of course, there are many variations of this theme, but the idea is that Peter is calling us to treat others not in the way they deserve, but because we have the altruistic attitude of acting toward others for their benefit, not for our own.

Further contemplation leads us to recognize that we need to grow in graciousness toward ourselves. We can be our own harshest critics and most demanding judges. Peter could be saying that we need to take it easy on ourselves. That, too, is true. However, it can prove extremely difficult to do. The testimony of many is how difficult, for example, it is to forgive oneself! But from another angle, we need to be careful not to abuse the notion of being gracious by resorting to gaslighting ourselves. In other words, we can easily deny the truth of our moral failings, especially our disobedience against God and His word. When we sin, we need to own up to and confess it; we can’t just “go easy” on ourselves. Discipleship requires honesty of the heart and serious dealing with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. There must be a better way of understanding what it means to “Grow in grace.” (To be continued….)

Lord, help me understand what it means to grow in grace so that I might actually grow in grace!