Godliness

(From devotionals at work)

"The vision of God is the source of patience, because it imparts a moral inspiration. Moses endured, not because he had an ideal of right and duty, but because he had a vision of God." -Oswald Chambers

"... make every effort to supplement your...steadfastness with godliness..." 2 Peter 1: 5-6

The next word in Peter's series of Christian virtues is godliness. The Greek word is "eusebeia," a combination of the word that means "well" and a word that means the correct worship of a deity, as opposed to false or hypocritical worship (see 1 Timothy 6:3-8). In classical Greek it could mean reverence, piety, loyalty, or religion, and in that culture could be addressed to parents and those in authority as well as to the gods.

In the New Testament it is best translated "proper reverential awe and fear" (see Hebrews 12:25-29). It is our response to both His raw power in creation and in nature (His "bigness"), and the fear of His displeasure (His judgment and wrath). Eusebeia comes from the realization of who God is, and of His sovereign control over our lives. The immediate result of godliness in our lives is humility. Its posture is to bow and confess two simple things: "You are God." "I am not."

Proverbs 14: 27 says "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death." 1 Timothy 4:8 states, "For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." These verses point out that godliness is not purely negative, but is also a source of life--on the premise that the more we fear and humble ourselves before God, the more He responds to us and exercises His life in us.

Godliness follows patience in Peter's series, so we have to ask what patience would be without it. This amounts to asking if the processes God puts us through to grow us would ever bear fruit if not culminating in humility. To experience those things that produce patience without ever bowing our heads before the majesty and plan of God would only produce bitterness. We might say with Job, "I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock." Note, by the way, that Job's response was entirely different when he encountered the power and love of God at the end of the book.

Lastly, let's reverse this. What would it be like to pursue godliness without first learning patience? If patience produces character, without it we would be offering God a fake and hypocritical worship, an artificial spirituality not based on suffering or experience.

Next time: brotherly love.