Do You Need Faith Supplements?

I’m not sure how old they were, but to me the title “ancient” applied. My parents, had an entire cabinet of dietary supplements. Every morning they’d pull them out and a ritual began. They twisted the lids, dumped the contents into their open palms and supplemented themselves.

Watching with a child’s eyes, as they shook out the contents labeled with the alphabet letters and numbers like secret codes. It made no sense to me.

I vowed never to do that.

I rolled my eyes to the parental exchanges, “Did you already take your B-X-Y-Z-103 to the power of 10?” 

My dad wore a confused look and poked at the jumble of bottles in his hands. He turned them this way and that until he found the right call out letter and number. Bingo. 

“How many C-3-GHX’s, should I take with the blue-what-cha-ma-call-ums?”

My father-in-law and mother-in-law, in their later years, had a lazy-Suzan on the table. Jam-packed necessary and not-so-necessary pill bottles clinked and wobbled with every spin, not unlike a popular game show. 

My father-in-law’s massive hands overflowing with pills never ceased to amaze me. He shook the mountain like dice, then tossed back his head and threw bunches into his mouth all at once. After several gulps, he was well supplemented for the day.

So… here I am.

The TV screen speaks to me in my comfortable chair, and tells me that at my age, I need supplements. The ads assure me in order to live fully, I need a pill, grease, or drink. Joints, energy, and well…other functions…just can’t work without them I’m told.

And then this morning, from the pages of my Bible, even an aging Peter had something to tell me on the subject of supplements.

He instructed his readers, “…Make every effort to supplement your faith…” (2 Peter 1:5 ESV).  Peter’s death neared, and he wanted his final parting words to help those remaining to be equipped with healthy spiritual strength.

He knew from a long life of experience that faith wavers when tested for both the young and not-so-young.

From his prison-cell retirement-lodging, he knew the impending signs. The urgency of what he had to say, last thoughts and instructions, burned in his heart.

These words in the book of 2 Peter remind me that spiritual growth is not a one and done. It doesn’t come with an expiration date on the bottle. And, as I read Peter’s final words, they put a mirror in front of my own face. They spoke to me, reminding me that even seasoned believers need to keep spiritually sharp. 

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (2 Peter 1:5-7 ESV)

“Make every effort,” Peter says. “Apply diligence.” Practice intentionality in your spiritual-growth-supplemental-regime regardless of your age.As I read Peter’s final words, they put a mirror in front of my own face. Share on X

So what supplements does the elder disciple want us to add to our spiritual diet?

• Virtue
• Knowledge
• Self-control
• Steadfastness
• Godliness
• Brotherly affection
• Love

Virtue is such an old-fashioned word, but I love it. Virtue means moral excellence. Peter refers to the God-given power or ability to accomplish excellent, even heroic acts. Virtue masters desire and stands apart in purity.

Virtuous lives build through knowledge of what God desires by correctly understanding His Word. In every season of life, we are called to be students of the Bible.

Self-control literally means “holding oneself in.” It often referred to athletes trained in self-restraint and discipline. It does not give in to the world’s lure. 

Steadfastness or perseverance is perhaps my favorite supplement, because it refers to one undeterred in purpose and endurance. A steadfast person demonstrates respect for God, purity in action and love for others. It’s an impressive quality.

Someone characterized with godliness lives obediently toward God. His faith is seen in brotherly affection. Godliness results in kind and sacrificial interaction with one another.

Love tops off the list like an open umbrella under which all the others become not just effective, but also winsome and reciprocal. 

These supplements we ingest not with our mouths, we embrace them in our hearts.

I imagine Peter as an old man, likely with aches and pains to prove it, a quill in hand and parchment before him. He sits in tattered clothing, the light is dim. Surrounded by damp stone walls, he writes, inspired by the Holy Spirit, a sort of last“ will and testament.” 

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8 ESV)

Once a young bold and passionate disciple, Peter participated in miraculously feeding multitudes, healing the sick, and even raising the dead. That same Peter, did not own the self-discipline or moral excellence to stand by Jesus when His Savior needed him most.Do You Need Faith Supplements? Share on X

Yet, he grew to be a steadfast man undeterred in his purpose, despite trials and testing, ready to die for Christ.

When I hear and read the ads directed my way, I can’t help but think with a smile, of all the supplements my parents and in-laws added to their diets. But then I remember Peter. His supplements are the kind I want. Every single day.

How’s your daily dose?

* Feature Photo by Natali Hordiiuk on Unsplash