2 Peter 1:12 12Therefore I intend constantly to remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have available.
Peter gives two key thoughts in these verses. His main point is to emphasize the need to remind his readers of what he just wrote in the above verses. The second is that he had a sense when he wrote this letter that his time left in his physical existence was coming to an end, meaning he would soon face death. He felt it necessary to keep these qualities before his readers as much as opportunity allowed. People have short memories, especially when the pull of the world is strong and opposing forces of temptation are present. We can never leave temptation; it will only take on different forms and come to us in different ways. Even living in a monastery far from civilization will pose spiritual challenges. Jesus went to the wilderness, far from people, but the devil still found him and tempted him.
We often have short term memory problems when it comes to spiritual matters. We forget the truths in the Bible. We forget the weekly sermon by the time we leave the chapel. Some of reason may be due to physical limitations and that our brains cannot remember the details. Another challenge is that we are constantly bombarded by the messages of the world. These messages drown out God’s words to us unless we pay careful attention. Another third reason is that we do not focus our lives in the right direction but are easily distracted by selfishness and unconfessed sin.
We need to keep our minds constantly nourished by Scripture reading, just as our physical bodies need food to stay strong. If we keep our faith development our first priority, we will grow in the truth, and our lives will evidence the qualities Peter listed earlier. Neglecting our faith formation will lead to struggle. The readers already knew what Peter wrote to them; they just needed reminding so that they could grow into Christlikeness.