Posted by HH Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.—2 Peter 1:8.
If we desire to glorify our Lord by fruitfulness we must have certain things within us; for nothing can come out of us which is not first of all within us. We must begin with faith, which is the groundwork of all the virtues; and then diligently add virtue, knowledge, self-control, and patience. With these we must have godliness and brotherly love. All these put together will most assuredly cause us to produce, as our life fruit, the clusters of usefulness, and we shall not be mere idle knowers, but real doers of the word. These holy things must not only be in us, but abound, or we shall be barren. Fruit is the overflow of life, and we must be full before we can flow over.
We have noticed men of considerable parts and opportunities who have never succeeded in doing real good in the conversion of souls, and after close observation, we have concluded that they lacked certain graces which are absolutely essential to fruit-bearing. For real usefulness, graces are better than gifts. As the man is, so is his work. If we would do better we must be better. Let the text be a gentle hint to unfruitful professors, and to myself also.
You will notice that I didn’t single out anyone, but collectively admonish us to be fruitful in all that we do and it starts with each of us as an individual. May we continue to serve the Lord in the beauty of holiness until He comes. Amen
THE MYSTICAL BROTHERHOOD 