KEY VERSE

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

— 2 Peter 3:18

 

ROOTED TRUTH

Grace is not only the door through which we enter the life of faith. It is the atmosphere in which we live and grow for the rest of our lives — and the deeper we go into it, the more of God we discover.

 

FAITH STORY

Peter’s final words in his second letter are a command and a benediction pressed into a single sentence: grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is a remarkable closing instruction. After addressing false teachers, the promise of Christ’s return, the dissolution of the present heavens and earth, and the new creation that is coming — after all of that cosmic, prophetic, weighty content — Peter ends with this: grow in grace.

Not grow in discipline. Not grow in doctrine alone. Not grow in spiritual achievement. Grow in grace. Because grace is not a static starting point from which you then move on to the more advanced curriculum. It is the curriculum. The more deeply you understand and receive the grace of God, the more fully you know God Himself — because grace is the expression of His character most directly addressed to your need.

Growing in grace looks different from what most people expect spiritual growth to look like. It is not primarily about adding more — more disciplines, more knowledge, more service, more spiritual experiences. It is about going deeper into what is already given. Receiving more fully what has already been offered. Discovering, in the grace you thought you already understood, dimensions and depths that you had not yet plumbed.

It is the believer who has walked with God for forty years saying with genuine astonishment: I had no idea how deep this goes. I am still only beginning to understand what He has done for me.

This week we have walked through grace that finds, forgives, transforms, sustains, and sends. But we have not exhausted it. We could not. Paul prayed that believers would be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ — and then immediately acknowledged that this love surpasses knowledge. You can spend a lifetime growing into something that will still exceed your comprehension when eternity begins.

That is not frustrating. That is the most wonderful thing imaginable.

Grow in grace. You will never run out of more to discover.

 

SCRIPTURE FOR DEEPER ROOTS

2 Peter 3:17–18 — Grow in grace and knowledge.

Ephesians 3:17–19 — “May you grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

Romans 5:2 — “Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”

 

DAILY PRACTICE

As you close this week on grace, write a letter to yourself — not to be read publicly, just for you — describing what you understand about grace today that you didn’t understand a year ago, five years ago, or when you first came to faith. Then write what you sense God is currently inviting you to understand more deeply. This is what growing in grace looks like: a living, expanding, lifelong discovery of what has already been freely given.

 

DAILY PRAYER

Father, I have spent this week in the shallows of something that has no bottom. Grace that finds, forgives, transforms, sustains, and sends — and I have only begun. I want to spend the rest of my life growing deeper into what You have already done. To You be glory both now and forever — not because of what I have achieved, but because of what grace has accomplished. I am still learning. I am still growing. And I am grateful that there is always more. Amen.

 

DEEP REFLECTION

1.  Peter ends his letter with grow in grace — not grow past grace into something more advanced. What does it tell you about the nature of grace that it is the destination as much as the starting point?

2.  Paul says the love of Christ surpasses knowledge — it cannot be fully comprehended even as it is being received. How does that limitlessness of grace change the way you approach your own spiritual growth and maturity?

3.  Looking back over this entire week — grace that finds, forgives, transforms, sustains, sends, and invites us to keep growing — which aspect of grace has most deeply touched something in you? What will you carry forward as the most important thing God has said to you through this series?

 

#DeeplyRooted#DailyRenewed Devotions for a Grounded and Growing Faith