This is the way I wrote it in my journal:
And because of His glory and excellence, Through which He has given me great (magnificent, FIERCE) and precious promises. These are the promises that through them I may BECOME a partaker of the divine nature, now that I have escaped from the corruption (decay) that is in the world which exists in the world through desire (lust) and decay (corruption, destruction, ruin, rottenness). 2 Peter 1:4
Partakers - koinos - partner, companion, participant who mutually belongs and shares fellowship (Koinania). Share in the life, work, or destiny of another. Interconnected participants in grace, mission, suffering, & glory.
Divine nature - lineal descent, native born.
I sit on the beach early one morning for several hours as the sun rises. My feet are in the sand and I listen to the waves crash gently on the shore. I close my eyes and hear them crash to the left of me, to the right of me, and finally in front of me. I open my eyes and a father has come to take his son out on a paddle board. The boy is about five or six. They paddle out, son gripping the ropes attached to the top of the board, and then come back to the shore. The father leaves the son by the paddle board as he walks across the sand to their beachside condo. The boy is perfectly calm playing in the sand as he waits. The father comes back with a life vest/floatie device for the son. They paddle out again, farther and farther into the ocean. The dad stands to paddle. The boy jumps off the board, turns, grabs hold of the board and plays in the water.
The son is the lineal descent, native born child of the father, you can see it in their mannerisms and the trust of the boy. The father is helping the son BECOME a partaker of his nature as they share the joy of life on a paddle board. If the boy will trust and cooperate with the father, one day nature will take over and the boy will be the one standing on top of the paddle board. I can see them in my minds eye, paddle boards side by side in the ocean - companions who fellowship from the top of a paddle board.
Lesson Eight: God has given me a Fierce Promise to become a partaker of His very own Fierce Divine nature. Question is, will I accept the challenge and climb on top of the paddle board, for now, wear the floatie for safety - not thinking I know it all, just believing in the future He will make me an interconnected participant in his mission of grace. By the way, I feel unsteady on the paddle board the Father has been handing me over the last year. But since was are paddling together, I trust His Fierce Confidence.