"Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.10-11 So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:3-11
You know when you're on Half.com trying to get your textbooks for cheap, or let's be more realistic, you're on eBay bidding on a handmade corn toss you swear you need for all the fall festivals you'll be throwing this year? Or my personal weakness, Sephora, in which case it really is like my relationship with God in that there is no limit, only love. And you have all your necessary items in your cart and you put in your shipping and credit card details and check the box that says it's not a gift and click checkout. But then, they ask you to CONFIRM your order; because the two hours I spent looking at Viva Glam Mac lipsticks wasn't a strong enough symbol of my love and commitment. I had stayed on the website and clicked Check Out. I stated that I was a customer, but I hadn't confirmed that I was a costumer.
How often do we let our faith become a word that describes us rather than a hope that drives us? Stating our faith is putting it in our cart. We verbalize what we believe by stating we are Christians. But to CONFIRM OUR INVITATION, we must do more than verbalize our faith. We must act it out. Our faith must become "active and growing," as we possess good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love. We must take the extra step of professing our faith through these righteous traits in order to confirm our invitation into a Kingdom filled with unconditional love.
God has invited us to live with Him forever. He has promised to love us no matter what we do. This is not a drill people! It is not too good to be true, but it is too good to pass up. If you're reading this post, you've most likely already professed your faith and declared Jesus as your Savior. But if you have yet to RSVP to this wonderful invitation by acting it out in the way you live, then I encourage you to start now. Write down one of the above traits you intend to express through your actions this week and then write how you expressed it on the back. Carry this card with you, as a reminder that you've RSVP'd to the best party ever.
So confirm God's invitation to join Him in a Kingdom possessing eternal love and I believe Revelations also mentions an endless supply of Essie Nail polishes.
You're all invited!