In order for our special dessert or favorite dish to reach perfection, we must stick to the recipe that was handed down to us. Perhaps it is a family recipe, so the ingredients are a well-kept family secret. The first time you prepare the dish, you examine the recipe like a map to a hidden treasure, precisely measuring the amounts of each ingredient. You know the combination of the ingredients will result in something scrumptiously delicious.

Our lives can be compared to a recipe. The only difference is that there are no secret ingredients. It begins with faith in Jesus Christ. The book of 2 Peter, focusing on chapter one and verses five through eleven, gives us some ingredients for a better, more fulfilling life in Christ. If you follow this recipe, you will surely obtain an effective and productive life. The ingredients in this recipe lead to the fullness of life by having faith in a loving God. The beauty of it all teaches us how to live a productive Christian life where there are no secrets.

Instead of secret ingredients, the Bible offers us the steps to follow for a full life with God, according with the book of 2 Peter 1:5-11 that lays it all out for us; like a recipe with different ingredients that, when put together, turns into a vibrant, strong, beautiful, productive life by faith:

God does not expect us to become instantly perfect in the qualities indicated above, but he tells us that we can “possess these qualities in increasing measure” (NIV). Growing in these areas because of our relationship with Jesus is the best recipe for a productive life.