The goal of our instruction is love. —1 Timothy 1:5 NASB
Imagine if somebody bought a lot next to your house and dug a hole for a foundation. But then they did nothing else. You’d think that was ridiculous. Why would someone dig a hole for a foundation if they don’t intend to put a house on it?
In 2 Peter 1, Peter says we are to “supplement” or “add to” our faith. We are to build our spiritual house, so to speak, by developing one virtue, which leads to another and then another. After listing these qualities, which includes virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, and brotherly affection, Peter directs our attention to the penthouse of the building: love. It’s the goal of the whole process.
Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). That’s the ultimate goal. However, you’ll never get that kind of love if you haven’t laid the foundation of faith and then built upon it.
Make it Personal
How can growing in the virtues listed in 2 Peter 1 help you to have the kind of love Jesus talked about in Luke 10:27?