Tricked, Bamboozled, and Swindled

So it's been about a year and a half since my last blog post and i find myself in one of the most beautiful places i've ever encountered. Living in mainland Alaska 15 years ago (wow, has it been that long...), i saw some breathtaking sights, yet i don't remember such magnificence as I'm experiencing in the islands of southeast AK. (That's the abbreviation for Alaska, not Arkansas. Easy to confuse the two.)
The beauty doesn't take away from the fact that God is doing some very real and very welcome remodeling in my spiritual walk. The verses He's are 2 Peter 1:3-11: a passage i was privileged to preach to my church family this past Sunday. The passage opens with Peter sharing with us that God has provided everything we need to live the life that God has gifted us with.
i think so many times that i look at godliness and holiness as something of a curse, something that i can't escape, something that is always pursuing me. It's like godliness is the part of the contract that was in the fine print, something i unknowingly signed up for and that i feel cheated by. Had i known this is what i was signing for, i would have politely declined and walked out with a smug smile on my face: an expression of satisfaction that i had not been tricked, bamboozled, or swindled.
However, as i read this passage, it becomes readily apparent that i've been tricked, bamboozled, and swindled by ye olde deluder Satan: the greatest con artist of all time. All these years, Satan (with a great deal of assistance by my flesh) has tainted my perspective on the pursuit of holiness. It's not a curse-it's a privilege. It's not a bane-it's a tremendous gift. In verse four, i find that God has not only extended me birth into His family and citizenship in His kingdom, but He also wants me to be His partner in holiness.
The idea of "share" or "partake" in verse four has the idea of "partner.". God has given us the opportunity and ability to partner with Him in sharing His divine nature. What a privilege! Not only do we become His partner, we escape the corruption caused by the system that the master swindler has designed to crush me.
i was tricked, bamboozled, and swindled-but not by God. May you come to know what i'm discovering. Holiness is not a curse designed to sap us of the pleasures and thrills of life. Holy living is an offer from God to become His partner. Interested? More to come. Thanks for reading.