Apostle Peter ended his epistle stressing his initial thoughts. In the beginning, he mentioned grace; in closing, he broached the subject again. Also, knowledge is conspicuously featured at the beginning of his writing; and we have it here again. His last submission was for people to grow in grace. As with physical life, our spiritual life does not stay static; we are either progressing or retrogressing.

There are good markers that can show spiritual progress. To grow in grace is to gain mastery over besetting sins. If the sins that held you bound two or three years ago still hold you, you haven’t advanced much in grace. Besides this, an upward climb on the ladder of faith will remove freckles from our characters. We become more like Christ. Growth in grace will lead to a life of love. We no longer struggle to love. Then we can bear with people and freely forgive them. Finally, growing in grace prepares us for effective ministry. This does not necessarily mean laying the foundation of another church and becoming the president of it. It simply means you have become a vessel of honour, ready for whatever use the Master may require. As the year 2022 comes to an end, take time to audit yourself. When most people review their year, they do that strictly in economic terms. They want to know if they increased their net worth. Perhaps, a much better way of reviewing the year is to see how far we have gone with the Lord. Regardless of our financial status, we will have recorded a good year if we know that the Lord is pleased with us.