Godliness doesn’t look the way we might always think and a godly character definitely doesn’t come overnight. But about this character, the Bible says “The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8 NLT). There is a pattern in the development of a godly character. This pattern, as described in 2 Peter 1:5-7, looks like this. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God better leads to self-control, which leads to patient endurance, which leads to godliness. And godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally, a genuine love for everyone.
The ending character trait, and I would dare say litmus test of godliness, is a genuine love for everyone. You can’t have godliness without love for others. You don’t test your degree of godliness by how much Bible you know, how much church-talk you do, or what you abstain from. It’s a simple test – you either have a genuine love for others or you don’t and if you don’t you’re not close to godliness. 2 Peter 1: 9 puts it this way “But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind or, at least, very shortsighted.”
The good news is, the Bible says that Jesus’ power gives us everything we need for living a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). As we get to know Jesus better we are able to receive more of his power and receive his special favor and wonderful peace (v.2).
