THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
(January 26)
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge (ἐν ἐπιγνώσει) of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge (διὰ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως) of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (ἐπιθυμίᾳ), and become partakers (κοινωνοὶ) of the divine nature.” (2 Pet 1: 2-4)
The “knowledge” of God brings grace, peace and divine power into my life, St. Peter reminds me here. We have been given to “know” Him in the coming to us, as one of us, of His Son, the God-Man Jesus Christ. He partook of our human nature, that we might, if we choose to do so, become partakers (κοινωνοὶ, communicants) of His divine nature.
So let me not approach this day as if I don’t have this “knowledge,” which God offers me about Himself. Let me “partake” of His life, as He partakes of mine, and allow myself to be lifted up, in and by His presence in my day. In God, I can “escape from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire,” which is what remains when I choose to approach my day on my own, without Him in the picture. I am dragged down into the merely-human ambitions, insecurities, and resulting self-centered fears, when I operate according to my will alone. But this morning I re-connect with Him, letting His “grace and peace be multiplied” in my heart, because I “know” I can do that. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” Lord, in everything that comes my way today.
