Slaying the Giant of Shortsightedness
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Feb 8, 2009
- Series: Slaying the Giants
SHORTSIGHTEDNESS
2 Peter 1:5-11
- For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
- and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
- and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
- For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
- Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
- and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Shortsightedness is a common visual condition in which a person can see close objects clearly, but objects in the distance appear blurry or unclear. This eye disease is also known as nearsightedness. Unfortunately, there are so many people who have become shortsighted in life. They only see things as they appear at the moment and are unable to see life 10, 20, or 50 years from now. These people simply live for the present time without being aware of the fact that who they are today can determine the kind of life they will live in the future.
Would you consider yourself shortsighted? The Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, provides sufficient warning against it. From the Old Testament, perhaps the life of Lot, Abraham's nephew, perfectly illustrates this failure:
- So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers.
- Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
- Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
- So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:
- Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
- Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
Because of the conflict between the herdsmen of Lot and Abraham, both men decided it was best for them to separate. Abraham gave Lot the first option to choose where he wants to go. Notice the shortsightedness of Lot when he made his choice. He saw the potential of the plains of Jordan how well watered the grasses were, perfect for the grazing of his animals. He was convinced this was his route to prosperity. However, he totally disregarded the fact that he was heading towards Sodom and Gomorrah where sin was also thriving. Fast forward, after about 18 years, God decided to punish the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. With the intercessions of Abraham, God in His mercy sent two angels to warn Lot and his family about the coming judgment. Check out what happened:
- The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here--sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
- because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
- So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
- With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."
Since Lot was shortsighted, when it was time for judgment, He failed to rescue even some of the people closest to him. He probably never mentioned about his faith or his relationship with Jehovah, the God of Abraham; and so, when he started talking about His judgment to his daughters and son's in law, they all thought he was just joking. He had lost them and everything he had worked for.
Now, in the New Testament, the apostle Peter gave a direct word concerning this problem. He literally warned in our text that shortsightedness can lead to being ineffective and unproductive in life (vs. 8-9). Don't we all want effectivity and productivity? Then we must slay the giant of shortsightedness. Allow me to share with you how you can defeat this giant:
I LOCK- IN YOUR ETERNAL PLACE:
The most important decision everyone needs to make is to lock- in or secure a place in heaven. The Bible explicitly reveal to us that we have to choose where we want to spend eternity. Of course, by eternity we refer to our timeless existence after we die. There are only two options: hell, which is the eternal punishment for sinners, and heaven, the prepared place for everyone who have surrendered their hearts to Jesus Christ.
I'm afraid that too many people live their lives without thinking about these realities. Just like the time of Lot, many are living and enjoying the pleasures of sin only to find that judgment is coming. Their philosophy - Life is short, enjoy it while you can.
I hope none of us will be deceived. The enjoyment of sin today is not a worthy exchange for an eternal suffering in hell. Jesus Himself said:
- What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
Our soul is so valuable that even all the earthly pleasures and possessions are not enough in exchange for it. That's also the reason why Jesus had to sacrifice His very own life so He can offer forgiveness of sins to those who would believe and surrender their hearts to Him. Here are two precious passages:
- Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If we want to lock-in a place in heaven where we can spend eternity with God, it is not through organized religion, or through our own goodness; it is only through Jesus Christ. He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. The gift of eternal existence is received when we receive Jesus into our hearts.
The recipients of Peter's letter are people who have already settled their eternal destiny. If you back track in the first verse of the same chapter, you will read - "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours." And then in verse 9, with the warning concerning shortsightedness, He reminded them of the common tendency among believers to forget what God had done for them - "has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."
Clearly, they were already believers. But, how about you? If you slip into eternity today or tomorrow, where will you spend it? If I were you, I won't delay. I'll make sure that I'll go to heaven by giving my heart fully to Jesus Christ. You would only be able to receive salvation while you are alive. Some people want to wait on their deathbed to settle this issue. The problem is: we never know when death would come:
- For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
We cannot wait. We have to decide today because tomorrow might be too late. Now is the day of salvation.
II LOOKOUT FOR ETERNAL PRODUCTIVITY:
Once you have settled where you are going after you die, you have to be concern of how you're living your life prior to dying.
If you go back to our text, Peter opened with this phrase - For this very reason. This compels you to check out the earlier verses to establish context:
- His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
- Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Therefore, Peter was clearly reminding all the believers that Christ divine power has provided everything they need in order for them to live victoriously against all potential enemies in the world. Now, that's not a new concept in this series because it simply echoes our key verse:
- No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Indeed, we have everything we need to slay the giants of life. But then, we cannot afford to be complacent believers. We need to be diligent in doing whatever it takes to cultivate the Christian qualities that will produce greater productivity in this present life. Qualities such as faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love.
However, you should not miss the emphasis. If you are productive in this life, according to Peter in verses 10 to 11, then you will receive a rich welcome in the eternal kingdom. That's it! We want to be productive here because that determines our productivity in eternity.
This may come as a shock to many, but eternity does not mean an eternal existence of hanging out with nothing to do except sing praises. Remember the parable of the talents where the faithful servants were told these words:
- "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
This parable is about the kingdom. Jesus is literally saying those servants who have been faithful with their "few" opportunities, will be given "many" or greater opportunities to serve the master in eternity. In other words, if we are productive with what we have received today, we will be entrusted with more when Jesus sits on the throne. Your life today is just a test. Here is another good passage:
- So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
I am convinced that the "true riches" here would be in the kingdom. If you are faithful with what you have received today, it would determine the kind of eternal existence you would have. Are you anticipating a productive eternity?
But let me just clarify what productivity means at the present: Why do you think you want to live a victorious life? Not only because you can get earthly promotions. We should cultivate a victorious life so we can be living testimonies for Christ and win people to Him. Going back to our main text, the effectivity and productivity of believers is measured by their impact and influence to lost people around them. Peter highlights the very same idea in his first letter:
- Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
- Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
III LEAVE AN ETERNAL LEGACY:
Lastly, it is essential that we do our best to live productive lives today, not just for the sake of having a productive eternal existence; we should also be concern of the spiritual legacy we are leaving behind.
If you continue living your kind of life today, what kind of spiritual legacy are you creating? Someone suggested, "Try to write the epitaph you would like engraved on your tombstone." How do you want to be remembered? Believe or not, our words and deeds each day are actually writing our legacy. We have to be more intentional in creating an inspiring legacy that will bless our children, grandchildren, and everyone who knew us permanently.
Paul provided an example for us:
- I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
Timothy was a beneficiary of a legacy of faith that started from his grandmother. This faith absolutely shaped his life in a vital and eternal way. And the best part was it contributed in extending the kingdom of God because Timothy actively advance the Gospel of Christ. We have the opportunity to do the same. We should stop being shortsighted. Let's live a kind of life that impacts the future. Not just our own future, but also the future of the people we will leave behind.