⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness … ⁹ For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

2 Peter 1:5-6, 9 NKJV

I was raised in the church. I was raised to know the Lord. I raised to walk in the way of God. Am I perfect in this walk? Absolutely. Though I am not perfect in this walk, I do my best to put forth the effort. I do my best to strive to live in a Christ-like manner. This is what faith is supposed to look like! We are to keeping growing and keeping adding to our faith though we may falter along the way.

Sadly, many have turned away from the walk of faith. Sadly, some are in the process of turning away from God right now and they don’t even realize it. The process of turning away from God comes when one becomes complacent. The sincere believer must continue to add virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and love to their faith. However, those who stop adding these things to their faith, Peter points out, is one becoming shortsighted. Notice the danger of becoming shortsighted.

Peter warns that one can become blind and forget they were cleansed from their sins. Forgetting this is dangerous as one will abandon the way. So, the encouraging word here is for us to never stop growing in our faith. Never stop maturing. When you have learned to love, keep growing in your love. When you have gained knowledge and self-control, keep growing. It is critically important that we never become complacent in our growth.