The Principle of Multiplication​

2 Peter 1:1-2 – Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

When I was young my dad told me a riddle that some of you might be familiar with. He asked me if I would rather have 1 million dollars, or be given 1 penny that doubled every day for 30 days. My first reaction was, “Duh! Give me my million!” Then when I sat down to do the math, I realized how short-sighted that answer was. If I chose the penny then on day 1 I would have 1 cent, on day 2 I would have 2 cents, on day 3 I would have 4 cents….not very impressive. As a matter of fact, by day 20 I would only have $5242.88, but that is when things started to get interesting. By day 28 the million-dollar mark is surpassed, and by day 30 the final total would have been $5,368,709.12…and it all started with 1 penny! Thus the power of multiplication.

Peter begins his second letter by mentioning this principle. In the second verse, he declares his desire for “Grace and peace” to be multiplied in the life of his fellow Christians. The same word here is used in 2 Corinthians 9:10 speaking of the results of sowing seed. A kernel of corn by itself isn’t much. But take that same kernel and plant it in fertile soil and eventually, a stalk will grow and produce up to 2 ears of corn. If one ear contains 800 kernels, then that would be a total of 1600 kernels from that 1 seed. However, this does not happen overnight. The farmer puts a lot of long hours tending his fields and it takes months for one stalk to mature and be ready to harvest.

If we would realize the multiplication of God’s grace and peace – we need to start planting some seeds. Just like the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the seed is the word of God. The more we plant God’s word in our hearts and minds, the greater the harvest of grace and peace in our lives. The result is so much more than money or food. Grace is God’s favor on our lives born out of His love, mercy, and forgiveness (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense). Peace is the calm assurance in the person and power of God. The more we know His Word, the greater our realization will be of His great love for us, and the more our faith will grow as we learn to trust in who He is.

As we ReFocus our hearts and minds on Christ, let’s sow some seed. As we study, meditate on, memorize, and apply the Word of God we are planting in the confident hope of a coming harvest. It may take some extra time and effort, but the results are tremendous. May the grace and peace of God be multiplied in each of us as we grow in the knowledge of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ!