“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” (2 Peter 1:4).

How sad life would be without promises. Imagine facing a future without knowing what it holds. Thank God for the promises of God. In Peter’s day the Christians faced a hostile government that proclaimed Caesar as lord. Peter himself died as a martyr in Rome. In this Scripture Peter declared that in a corrupt world where evil desires marked the misbehavior of so many we have “great and precious promises” given to us by God. We can see beyond the trials we face now and can have absolute confidence that we will ultimately receive the blessings God has promised.

Every once in a while I’ll read a Scripture that makes me pause in amazement. This is one of them. The truth that we may “participate in the divine nature” is just about beyond my comprehension. Yet, that is the key to our living unaffected by the corruption around us. Participating in His divine nature doesn’t mean that we are divine. It does mean that He’s done something inside us that changes us. He has given each of us the gift of a new nature. We got our old nature from natural birth. We get a new one when we are born again.

That’s why we can be like Jesus. It’s not a matter of keeping our old tendencies under control with rules and regulations. It’s a matter of allowing the fact that we’re God’s children to shine through in the way we live and talk. There are many precious promises Peter referred to in this letter. None is more precious than the fact that God graciously allows us to participate in His divine nature. I’ll never read these words without thinking “Wow!”