Are You Growing?
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen”.—2 Peter 3:18
When I took my son in for his four-month visit, I was shocked to learn he had gained two ounces in two months. As a parent, I was deeply concerned. I knew that wasn’t right.
Yet do we have this same perspective when it comes to our spiritual growth? When we are stuck in old patterns of sin or not progressing in our understanding of the gospel or have the attitude that the Bible is stale and boring, do we treat that with the same gravity?
The Biblical Exhortation to Keep Growing
It’s easy for us to understand the importance of growth in young children. It’s also easy for us to understand that new believers need to be rooted in their newfound salvation (1 Peter 2:2, 3).
But what if you have been a believer for a while? Hebrews 5:12-14 gives these stern words: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
It is right to approach God with childlike faith, but here, the writer chides his readers for still being spiritual babies when they ought to be maturing in their understanding. While they need not be perfect, he was clearly expecting them to master the basic principles of Scripture, growing in righteousness and discernment.
God expects us to grow. Are you?
Why You Should Prioritize Your Spiritual Growth
While there are many reasons why we should prioritize our spiritual growth, three stand out for me.
First, taking time to read God’s Word helps us to know our God more personally. Sometimes I wonder if we fail to glorify God because our view of Him is far too small. Growing in grace means knowing Him more truly for who He is, not settling for cultural or comfortable perspectives.
Second, God’s Word reveals the truth about ourselves. As we know God more truly, I also see the gap between Him and me. This often leads me to repentance—the beginning of change and transformation—and thanksgiving for His great love in saving one such as I.
And lastly, as I get to know His heart for me as His dependent child, I am more challenged to carry out His mission and live out His story. Motivated by love, I seek to be trained by Him to do His work in loving others.
How to Keep Growing
Admittedly, this is a discipline. It takes time to marinate in Scripture, identify the growth edges, and then actively make plans or arrangements to think, choose, and act differently than you currently do.
But we must be active participants in this process.
At the start of every year, I take some time to reflect and ask God, Where do I need to grow? Where is my understanding weak? From here, I choose three areas in my life to “deep dive” into for the year, like
A spiritual discipline to practice
A doctrine to explore
A skill to develop
A truth to marinate in
A question to understand
With that in mind, I begin to jot down passages of Scripture and find books that might help shed light and help me grow in understanding in these areas. I treat it like a university course, creating a reading and study schedule, along with activities to put what I learn into practice.
One of the best ways I’ve found to do this is to read and study with friends. Most likely, at any given time, I know someone who is probably in the same boat as I am. I throw out an invitation to see who would like to join me. Along the way, we discuss ideas and encourage each other to keep growing.
This does take time, I admit. But if I desire to serve others with freshness, authenticity, and vitality, I cannot shirk. I don’t want to serve stale food to others when they come over for dinner, and that is true in ministry as well. When I invest in feeding my own soul, it will overflow in blessing to others.
Investing time and space to grow can be inconvenient, no doubt. But if we desire to worship and glorify Him more earnestly—what we are created to do—we must make that investment, even to the point of sacrifice. How will you grow this year?
