Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, (2 Peter 1:5)

When Jesus comes into our lives we have everything we need for life and godliness. That however, is the starting point. The Apostle Peter instructs us that we must nurture our faith. We must conform our thoughts and behaviors to the inner reality of the Holy Spirit that dwells within. We do this by diligently adding to our faith.

The word diligence conveys the idea of haste or urgency implying a sense of earnestness. Peter then enumerated several character qualities that we are to add to our faith ( moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love). We are to be diligent to add these virtues to our lives. How’s your progress in supplying these virtues to your faith?

If you’re not experiencing a life of joy and peace, then perhaps you need to add these virtues to your faith. There is a great promise for those who put these into practice:

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8)