The Christian life is one of growing to be more and more like Jesus. Listen to these words of Peter in 2 Peter 1:1-11.  “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

When Peter says,  “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness,” he is talking about the process of sanctification where we become more and more like Jesus. This process starts when we accept Christ as our savior, continues throughout our lives, and culminates when we see Him face to face at the resurrection of the dead. 

There are two keys to sanctification. The first is the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples that “when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” That Spirit lives within us and is, according to Paul, “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession - to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:14) 

The second key to our sanctification is our own effort to bring our lives into conformity with Him. As Paul says in Galatians 5:25-26, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Or in Philippians 3:16, "let us live up to what we have already attained.”

If we cannot look back on the past six months and see specific ways where we have grown in our faith and life in Christ, we are not paying attention to the issue of sanctification. While salvation is free and we cannot earn it, we are responsible to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to bring our lives into ever greater alignment with God. As we do that, we experience the abundant life that Jesus promises in John 10:10.

Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit who guides me into truth. Help me today to live by that truth and help me to become progressively more like you. Amen.