"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue …" (2 Peter 1:5a ESV).
Have you ever heard someone say, “I hate drinking water?” Growing up, and even through my college years, I hardly ever drank water. I actually passed out a couple of times in middle school because of dehydration. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I started trying to drink water because I knew it was good for me. It was difficult at first. I forced myself to choke down a bit each day until, amazingly, one day I realized I drank it without even thinking about it. Water is now my drink of choice.
Throughout my Christian experience, I’ve gathered the impression that some people think once you have faith and believe in Jesus then He will change you and all these attributes like “virtue” or “moral excellence” (NASB) will spring naturally from within you. Once Jesus abides in you, then you will want to do the right thing automatically. This school of thought has led me to fret when I deviate from the Christian way. Did I mess up because Jesus wasn’t in me? Did I sin because I don’t have enough faith? Perhaps obtaining Christ-like qualities takes more than initial belief.
Having faith and believing in Jesus is like believing water is beneficial for you. Your body literally cannot live without water, but if you never drink it then that belief doesn’t do you any good. Believing and doing are two separate but necessary actions. First, you have to believe water is good for you and then you have to pick up a glass, fill it, and drink. We can have faith and belief in God, but if we choose not to act then we, and the people around us, will not receive the benefits of that faith. By making “every effort to supplement [our] faith,” we will actively work with the Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus. Just like my change from hating water to preferring it, the Holy Spirit will help us grow each time we make a decision to act, think, or speak as Jesus desires. The Holy Spirit will encourage us to do what is right but it is still our choice that matters. Our moral excellence, or virtue, develops over time only with effort, just like changing our habits to be more beneficial requires us to make better choices each day.
Dear Lord, please send Your Holy Spirit to help me supplement my faith with Christ-like characteristics. Amen.