“In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.”
2 Peter 1:5-7 NLT
Maturity in believers is not to have affection for everyone so much as it’s to love everyone. This is the highest trait in a believers discipline of his Christian walk. For many affection is the pinnacle. This section mirrors an area of the gospels where Christ commanded Peter to love his people on two different ways. Originally Christ commanded an agape love, but After Peter pushed back that he would offer a Brotherly love, Jesus finally allowed this lesser standard. Here we see that Peter has grown to embrace that through a sprawling tree of maturity in varying areas, he finally agrees that brotherly love should give way to something more. Jesus taught that the greatest expression of agape is self sacrifice. The laying down of our lives for others is the prime form of this. Here Peter admonishes believers to take on others in this way as well. It is not enough to be nice, or patient or providential or spiritual with each other, we must be self sacrificial with our maturity. This is the proper response to all that God has freed us to be and to do. Our proper response is to reflect him, even into death. This is how Jesus turned enemies into brothers.
JOSH McGARY. COM 